Bittersweet Destiny
by anotherOUATwriter
Summary: A year into her loveless marriage, Regina finds herself travelling through the woods after she is invited to join her husband and stepdaughter at the Summer Palace. But her carriage is intercepted and the Queen never reaches her final destination, instead, she is held captive by Robin of Locksley, the hero from the peasants' stories. / OQ
1. Chapter 1

**_A/N1:_ **I do not own OUAT.

**_A/N2:_** Regina recently married Leopold, but besides from throwing her mother through the looking glass, Regina hasn't learned magic. She's hurt and alone but she's not dark.

_**Cover made by: **Frivolous Whim_, the link to her tumblr in on my profile :)

**_Beta:_ **xmyvampireheartx - You are awesome.

Hugs,

Mara

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**Bittersweet Destiny**

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After being held as a prisoner in her own castle for almost a year, only having her shadow as company, Queen Regina had been invited by her husband, King Leopold, to join him and his daughter at their Summer Palace. Regina had been thrilled when she heard the news; not because she was eager to see her husband and stepdaughter, but because she finally had permission to leave the stone walls that surrounded her and were driving her crazy.

She had always loved the nature, the forest, the smell of the rain; but all those things had become luxuries as soon as she married King Leopold. Now, her riding lessons had been cancelled, she couldn't expose her skin to the sun because royals didn't have tanned skin and she was forbidden to leave the castle. Regina wanted to believe that Leopold meant well, and that he was actually worried about her well-being. She had even made herself not to hate the king when he forced himself into her, repeating that it was his right as husband. But the more time she spent locked and alone, the harder it was for her to believe that Leopold even cared about her and the harder she found on her heart to forgive him and his daughter. How different would have her life been if Snow White had kept quiet? She would be with Daniel, with someone that loved her. But now she only had bitterness in her life.

The trip from the Royal Castle to the Summer Palace was a day long, she was not excited to get to the palace, but she would enjoy the ride as much as she could. Regina closed her eyes and cleared her mind, only thinking on the sound made by the horse's gallop. And secretly, she wished that she'd never reach the Summer Palace, she wished she could stay in the woods and live happily around the nature that was she so fond of.

A sudden halt made the Queen open her eyes. They couldn't have reached the palace so fast. She looked around and a wave of happiness washed her body: they were still in the woods. But as soon as the wave had appeared, it disappeared. Why had they stopped in the middle of the woods? It was dangerous, the place was filled with outlaws that couldn't live following King Leopold's orders and had decided to hide in the forest.

She was about to open her mouth to ask Faoro, the coach driver, why had they stopped when she heard men talking, they were being robbed. Silently, she got down from the carriage and started studying her situation, Faoro had been knocked out and tied to a tree, the two guards that had been assigned to protect her had suffered a similar fate. The bandits, who were too busy going through her baggage, failed to notice the presence of the Queen, so without making a sound Regina untied a horse, climbed onto the animal and started riding as fast as her dress let her, thanking the Gods that she didn't wear a tight dress that day.

She didn't look back, she didn't have to to know that someone was following her. She heard the bandit's horse approaching to her, with the sound of the gallop she knew he was closer to her by every minute that passed, cutting the distance between them. Then, Regina looked to one side, only to notice that a man was riding next to her. Panic took over her. What would she do now? Her horse couldn't outrun this man's animal.

But her thoughts were shaken by a tackle. The man that was riding next to her had jumped towards her horse and pushed her, together with him, down the horse. The bandit didn't let the woman's body hit the ground. He swung their bodies so that she would land over him as his strong arms embraced her, fixing her against his chest. He moaned when they both hit the ground, but Regina didn't feel bad about it, he deserved the pain. Pushing a Queen off her horse! Did this thief know who was he had just tackled? He could get his hand chopped, or worse, for this. The Queen quickly got off him and stood up, trying to think her escape options, the horse was no longer an option.

"Your majesty," the bandit that pushed her down said standing up and offering her a hand "Are you alright?"

"Do you think I'm alright?" the Queen snapped at him "You knocked my driver and my guards out, and then you knocked me down a horse! Of course I'm not alright," she replied to his idiotic question as she cleaned the dust out of her baby-blue gown.

"I'm sorry, your majesty, but we couldn't let you run away,"

"I am the Queen, as you well know," Regina asked, "I order you to let me go,"

"We are holding you for ransom," the bandit explained.

"Is this what this is about?" She chuckled. "A ticket out of your miserable life?"

"The King will pay a great deal for you, you are his wife," the bandit tried to reason with her.

"I'm his second wife, I can assure you he doesn't love me," she said in a tone that sounded more sad than she had wanted it to sound, but the bandit didn't seem to notice; and if he did, he didn't comment on it. "You should have tried kidnapping his precious daughter,"

"I would never harm a little girl,"

"Who knew a thief had honour?"

"I'm not a thief,"

"Really?" Regina asked arching an eyebrow.

"I just take from the rich to give it to the poor," he stated with a shrug, "It's a noble thing to do,"

"That's an interesting way of describing your hobby," she said, her voice painted with disdain "What's your name, thief?"

"Robin, Robin of Locksley, your majesty," he replied in the same tone that she had used against him.

Robin of Locksley, she had heard about him. He was a legend; the hero of all the peasants' stories, stories that were whispered from parents to their children, stories that travelled, carrying a message of hope, through the castle walls and straight to King Leopold's council. But Regina was not a peasant, and this bandit had been stealing from her husband for a long time now. She was not here to befriend him, she was here against her free will, and she shouldn't forget that.

The Queen studied the man who stood in front of her. If he would be part of the King's court he would have a lot of conquests among the noble women, no doubt. He didn't have a clean shave, which made him look a little bit wild and extremely handsome. His legs were well toned, from what she could see through his tight pants; she deduced that his arms and chest's muscles were equally fit, after all, when he had held her as they fell from the horse, she had felt secure in his strong arms. His hair was perfectly combed, as if he didn't live in the forest. And he smelled like forest, that smell that she loved so very much. She shook her head to shake her thoughts away, returning to the conversation that they were having before she was lost in her own mind.

"Well, Robin of Locksley," she said and almost tapped his shoulder, to show him that she really felt bad about this whole situation "I am sorry to disappoint you, but the King couldn't care less about my wellbeing,"

"We will see about that, your majesty," Robin smiled, he was so sure that the King would give him a great amount of money for Regina. She didn't know whether let herself be intoxicated by his optimism or laugh at his stupidity. "Please, follow me," the voice of the bandit brought her back to reality.

And without saying anything else, the Queen followed the thief further into the woods.


	2. Chapter 2

They had been walking for what felt like hours. Robin's men had passed them a long time ago, riding the horses they had just stolen from the King and carrying her carriage and gold with them. Why hadn't they taken her with them? Or why hadn't they left her at least a horse? Had her carriage been too heavy for three horses? She doubted it.

Regina couldn't help but wonder if Robin was making her walk in circles to confuse her about the camp's location - as if she would go and tell her dear husband the whereabouts of his major problem. No, she would never. Not because she wanted to protect Robin of Locksley and his filthy thieves, but because she liked when Leopold struggled, trying to catch the bandits.

The Queen remembered the countless times that the King had invited her to the council meetings, and she had to sit and listen how the Merry Men had evaded the King's Guard. It never failed to amuse her. Maybe her life was not peachy, but the thieves were making Leopold's harder than a King's life was supposed to be. And for that, she was thankful.

Regina then noticed a tree with a flyer that she had seen a while ago, it was a flyer that stated that a reward of 100 golden coins would be given to whoever caught Robin of Locksley or any other member of the Merry Men. She knew it was the same flyer because someone had written 'We will never betray the Prince of Thieves' on top of the picture and had drawn a moustache over Robin's sketch - which didn't looked nothing alike to the real Robin. Unconsciously, she moaned in discomfort, her feet her killing her, her back ached and who knew how much longer Robin would have her walk.

"What's wrong, your majesty? Not used to the fresh air?" Robin asked in a mocking tone.

"More like not used to walking in circles with a moron who thinks I haven't noticed," she snapped.

He looked surprised that she had noticed that they were walking in circles, as if it took a higher level of intelligence to realise that. Regina rolled her eyes at the thief. Did he seriously think she was a dumb and helpless Queen?

"Do you want to rest for a while?" he offered.

"Why can't we just get to your stupid camp already?"

"It's far away,"

"I bet, if we keep walking in circles..."

"It is still a long walk, even if we walk in a straight line,"

Regina exhaled annoyed and sat on a tree's root that had arched outside the earth. Robin sat in front of her and studied the Queen with curiosity. She looked so different from what he had imagined. Yes, her beauty lived up to the expectations he had after hearing tales about her, but there was something different about Regina, something that other Queens didn't have. It was as if her lips wanted to sing a sad song and her eyes had held too many tears - more than any woman should ever hold in a life time.

The Queen was studying the thief as well; past his more-than-alright body and face, there was something that intrigued her: his past. What was Robin of Locksley before he became the Prince of thieves? Where had he come from? Locksley was not even part of King Leopold's kingdom.

"What were you? Before you turned into a thief?" Regina asked, breaking the silence between them.

"Why do you care?" he replied with another question. He wasn't angry, just confused at her sudden interest.

"I've heard all the tales about Robin of Locksley, the hero," the Queen said, "But I've never heard anything about Robin of Locksley, the man,"

"I was just a man,"

"I don't believe that," Regina raised an eyebrow "Where is Locksley? What are you doing here?" she asked. After seeing that he wouldn't answer her questions she added, "Your Queen asked you a question, Robin of Locksley,"

Robin sighed, he hated talking about his past. It opened scars and reminded him of betrayals; somethings should stay in the past, and never be mentioned again, but he knew that she wouldn't drop the topic, so it was better to get over with it "I was a knight once," the thief said.

Regina's eyebrows almost disappeared into her hair-line. The Prince of Thieves had a title once? One that was legit? Well, this was a big shocker. Then again, that explained his impeccable appearance, and his gentle way of treating her and speaking - even if sarcasm and mockery got the best of him most of the times.

"What happened?"

"I refused to collect more taxes," he explained, "The people were starving and the King wanted more and more money, his greed was limitless,"

"So, you just ran away? Into my husband's kingdom?" she asked disappointed; she hadn't expected that, as the hero that people claimed him to be, he would have stayed and fight.

"No," Robin said after a while and took off the leather wristbands he had and uncovered a set of marks around his wrist, "First, they hung me and starved me, for days," he explained, "Then, they asked me if I still thought that the King was greedy. That's how I got these," the bandit took his shirt off and turned around so that Regina could appreciate the scars that had stayed as a result of the lashes he had received.

Regina felt tempted to lean in and touch the scars on his toned back, and it took all the force she had in to restrain herself of doing so. "And then you ran away?" she asked after clearing her throat.

"No," the thief said dryly and his eyes went dark.

"What happened?" this time, Regina's question didn't come out of curiosity, but out of concern - even if she couldn't bring herself to admit it, the way that his happy-self had turned into a cold and distant-self had shocked her.

"That's a story for another time," he replied putting his shirt back on and standing up, "We should get going," Robin added, offering her a hand to help her and then, started walking.

Regina followed him close behind, silence surrounded once again. The Queen looked at the Prince of Thieves as they walked, as the sun went down and the darkness of the night started to wrap them, but she didn't spoke another word. She couldn't help but going back to the moment when Robin's face had changed, cheerfulness being replaced by sorrowfulness. It only made her more interested in the man. Why would have he endured all the torture and then leave for something else? Had he been hurt? Had someone hurt him? Would he ever open to her? She doubted it, after all, she wouldn't open to him about her past, so it was only fair not to pry on his.

The stars were already shining in the sky above them when she heard music and laughs, her eyes were directed to a bonfire that burned few yards away from them. She prayed to the Gods that the bonfire was the Merry Men's camp, she didn't know how much longer her feet would endure this torturous walk. To her relief, Robin guided her towards the bonfire.

"Well, your majesty," he said once they were in front of the burning flames, "Welcome to the Merry Camp,"

The Queen hoped her facial expressions didn't betray her. But she was awed by the camp, the way some men sang to cheer the environment, while another group of men cooked dinner. Peace and happiness reigned the place, in a way that she had never felt before.

"You must be tired," Robin commented after a while, "I'll walk you to your tent so you can get some rest before dinner," he said and extended an arm in the direction he wanted her to walk.

Robin walked behind her, his hand close to her lower back, never touching the Queen's skin. But Regina knew it was there, she could feel the warmth of his palm against her back and she felt safe. It was the first time, since Daniel's death, that she felt safe. And it relaxed her and scared her at the same time.


	3. Chapter 3

The Queen studied her surroundings, the tent that had been her shelter for the past two days: it was filthy and smelt musty. If her mother would see the pathetic excuse of bed on which she been sleeping, some men would lose their hearts, and lives. Not that she really cared about their worthless lives, they had kidnapped her and treated her in ways no peasant should treat their Queen. She knew she could rip their hearts out, after all Rumpelstiltskin had taught her a thing or two. But she knew the price for taking and crushing someone's heart: selling your soul to the dark side; and that was a price that Regina was not willing to pay, not yet.

She didn't want to become dark; she had seen what dark magic could do, she had been victim of it. No, she would only use magic as last resort, when all her hopes were gone. For now, she just planned on waiting and see if Leopold would be the good man that everyone praised him to be, she would wait and see if her _beloved_ husband would pay the money that these men were asking for her.

"I see you are awake, m'lady," Robin said, stepping into the hanged rags they called_ the Royal Tent_.

"It's your majesty," Regina snapped, "And I can hardly sleep in this _bed_, if you can call it like that," she pointed at the straw mattress. "Why are there only two men guarding my_tent_?"

"If it's my men's behaviour that worries you, fear not your majesty; they are men of honor,"

"Yes, I'm sure thieves are men of honor," she replied in a mocking tone, "However, it's not your men I'm worried about,"

"No?" Robin asked, confused.

"You should be the one worrying about me escaping," Regina pointed out. And Robin couldn't help but laughing at her, "I will let you know I am perfectly capable of orientating myself in the woods by using the sun, the stars and the moss that grows on the ground,"

"I bet you are m'lady," Robin said using a scornful tone, and then quickly corrected the way he had addressed to her, "_Your majesty_,"

The Queen crossed her arms. Why wouldn't she be able of knowing how to orient herself? Because she was a girl? Because she was the Queen? Someday she would make him eat his words, along with that cocky behaviour of his. "Any words from the King?" she asked, refusing on addressing Leopold as her husband.

The Merry Man shook his head, "No, your majesty,"

Regina pursed her lips into a smile, she couldn't help but enjoying his disappointment. Yes, she was suffering, but at least the outlaw was not getting what he wanted either.

"Why are you smiling?" he asked.

"I told you he wouldn't pay for me," she replied, proud to be right.

"And that makes you happy?" the outlaw asked again, "To know that your husband is not trying to rescue you?"

The smile disappeared from Regina's face, but she didn't look away. "It's not like he loves me," she said and shrugged, even if she knew that ladies were not supposed to have such body language.

"If it would be the other way around," Robin said taking a step closer to her, "And I would be holding him for ransom, would you have sent your men already?"

"Yes," Regina gave away too quickly. "I would have sent my men," her answer seemed to surprise Robin, "I would have sent my men telling you to kill the King, for you would not receive a single silver coin from my pocket to save his life," she added, bitterness painting her voice.

"Why did you marry him, if you despise him so much?" the outlaw asked, her previous answer had shocked him, "Is all the gold worth the hate that you feel towards him?"

"Who said I married him willingly?" she threw daggers at him with her eyes. "Just because I married the King doesn't mean _I_ was the one after his gold,"

"Really?" Robin raised an eyebrow, "Because you don't seem as the type of girl who would be comfortable sleeping in a stable,"

_The stables_. Just mentioning the word brought back painful memories, memories that she wanted buried deep in, both, her heart and brain. Memories of her true love dying; of her holding his lifeless body on her arms. _Daniel_. How different would her life been if she would have run away with him, if she would have married him. Would they have children already? Maybe their own house, a cozy and loving home; a small farm in one of the kingdom's corners, far away from her mother, the King and that brat of, Snow White.

"M'lady," Robin's voice brought her back to reality, to her tent, "Are you alright?" he asked half confused, half worried.

It was then when she realised that tears where running down her cheeks. "Get out of my sight!" she yelled at him, trying to sound regal, trying to hide her pain.

Robin didn't move at first, he stood still as he studied her, wondering how could someone pass from bitterness, to sadness, to hate, in a short spam of few seconds. Regina was a mystery to him. Without thinking much about it, he raised his hands and swiped away the tears that were running down the Queen's cheeks with his thumbs. That would have cost him a hand, or even his life, if they would have been back at the castle; but he didn't regret touching her.

She flinched at the contact of his hands with her cheeks, probably waiting for a violent touch rather than a gentle one. Had she thought that he would hurt her? That thought made Robin furrow his eyebrows, her body's reaction to his caress had been as if she hadn't felt something similar in a long time. His confused eyes studied Regina's face. She didn't say anything, she had suddenly gone mute.

Then, when Robin gaze met hers, an even worse reaction happened: she gulped. As if she was waiting for him to forcer her into sex, to make her understand that she was powerless to a man. He took a step back, his hands suddenly missing the warmth of Regina's body. The Queen's body language had told him enough, it had made him realise that she had been speaking the truth form the beginning. That the King didn't love her, nor respected her. And in that moment, he swore to the Gods and himself that he would protect the Queen until his last breath.

"Excuse me, m'lady," he said, bowing his head and left her alone.


	4. Chapter 4

It had been almost one week since the Queen's kidnapping and there was still no word from the King. Regina didn't know whether to feel relieved that the King didn't want to rescue her, or be mad due to the same fact. She was, after all, his wife and his Queen; she was his daughter's stepmother. That had to count for something. Maybe he was already looking for a new bride, after all, if it had taken him one year of mourning to replace his first wife, the one he really loved, how long would it take to replace her? She wondered if the people who really loved her were worried, her father, for example; or if Rocinante missed her.

Regina was sitting on the stiff bed looking into the nothing, she was still not used to the Merry Men's way of living. The mattress was hard, and they didn't have much variety of food, but they had horses. Sometimes, when Robin let her walk around the camp, she would go and feed the horses. Of course she was not allowed to ride them, but at least she could pet them. Horses always took her mind off her problems. She had also grown fond of they Merry Men's nights around the bonfires, telling jokes or ghost stories.

That day, her usually boring morning was interrupted by Robin stepping into the _Royal Tent_ carrying spare clothes with him. "Here," the outlaw said handing her a pair of riding pants, a shirt and a jacket, "I thought you would be more comfortable if you got rid of that dress,"

Regina stared at the clothes that he had just given to her, they were similar to the clothes she used to wear when she went riding with Daniel. The jacket was pastel green coloured and looked a little bit worn out and the pants were khaki coloured, and she could already see they would be a little bit long, but it would do. Anything was better than the dirty dress that she had worn for almost a week now.

"Would you... I - Um - uh, " the thief struggled formulating the next sentence.

"Eloquent as usual," Regina pointed out and raised an eyebrow, "Would I what?"

Robin swallowed, "Would you, maybe, want to bathe?" he asked, and couldn't help but slightly blushing, hoping she didn't take this the wrong way "There's a place, upstream but not far away, where you could bathe in peace,"

"Oh," she let out, "I don't know," the queen admitted, a bathe sounded wonderful, but she didn't want to be naked if the Merry Men were close to her.

"I would keep watch while you bathe, your majesty," he stated, "If anyone tries to lay eyes on you, I would kill him,"

Regina had to refrain herself from smiling, would he really go to such extent to protect her reputation? Of course not, he was probably protecting his ticket out of poverty. After all, she was the Queen, and any bandit could hold her for ransom. So, instead of thanking him, she just said sarcastically "My hero!" and walked out of the tent, closely followed by Robin.

They walked out of camp, Regina leading the way, not really knowing where she was headed to, but too proud to ask the outlaw that followed her for directions. She stopped for a while and tried to listen; she was supposed to bathe in a river, rivers had flows, and flows made sounds. She was trying really hard on excluding the other sounds, like birds singing or the wind blowing through the trees. She heard nothing, except Robin cracking the dry tree branch that he had just stepped on. Regina rolled her eyes and tried harder, Daniel had taught her this, she could do it. She closed her eyes and listened to the nature.

When the only thing she heard was Robin chuckling, she opened her eyes and shoot him a glare, "Are you done?" Robin asked her, "Or do you want to stay here until the sun goes down and the water gets cold?"

Regina tightened her jaw muscles, "If you would be so kind and let me listen to the river, I could -,"

"You can't listen the river from here," Robin interrupted her. By her face, he could see no one had interrupted her in a while, so he quickly added, "Your Majesty," to try to sound more polite and respectful. "It is three miles to the north and then one to the northeast,"

They had to go north. Regina smiled to herself, that was something she could figure out. She walked towards the nearest tree and studied it, looking for moss. "_Moss only grows in the north part of a tree, Regina,_" she heard Daniel's voice in her head, just as he had explained her when he was teaching her how to navigate through the nature. "_You see, if the sun goes out on the east, and goes to the west, it leaves the north side of the tree in the dark for most of the day, specially during winter days,_"

"We go that way," Regina pointed out with her index finger, feeling confident about her decision.

Robin pursed his lips into a half-smile and nodded in approval, "You really are a box of surprises, aren't you?"

The Queen didn't say anything, she already felt enough satisfaction on proving him wrong: she _did_ know how to orientate herself in the woods. Back when Daniel had taught her how find the cardinal points, she thought it would never come in handy, that she would have him to guide her forever. But she had been wrong, about the first thing at least. About the second, she had been partly wrong, because even after his death, Daniel was still taking care of her.

Daniel had told her once that 2200 of her steps were a mile, since she wouldn't count until such a high number, she divided it by four. 550 steps per quarter of miles. They walked in silence the three miles north, Regina counting every step and Robin too interested in the Queen, studying each frown and each smirk - she was really something.

"Three miles!" Regina said, sounding happier than what she had intended to. "Now one to the northeast," she added and looked up to the sky.

"_Place your body facing the north,_" Daniel's voice echoed in her mind, and she could feel the phantom of his body behind her, gently holding her shoulders, "_Your right hand will be the east, and your left hand, the west,_" She knew where she had to go next, not completely towards the side her right hand was pointing, but between the north and the east.

She started walking without telling Robin the direction they should take, she was only one mile away from taking a bathe and she could only think about the water cleaning her skin. She felt filthy and the idea of finally washing her body and her hair stirred her. The excitement almost made her lose the step count; but when she was finally able to hear the water running, she stopped counting and ran, guided by her hearing. Robin had first been confused when he saw Regina running off, it took him a while to understand that she must have heard the river. The outlaw couldn't help but smiling at the Queen's happiness for such a small detail.

By the time the thief had caught up with the Queen, she was already sitting on a rock and dipping her feet in the water. She was smiling, and it made all this walk worth it for him. Regina stopped smiling as soon as she noticed that Robin was with her, as if she didn't want to let him know that she was enjoying herself thanks to him.

"I'll be sitting there," Robin said pointing a tree few feet away, "If you see or hear anything that frightens you, yell and I'll be here as quick as a wink,"

After Regina nodded, understanding the order he had just gave her, Robin turned on his heels and walked towards the tree he had pointed moments ago.

"Thank you," he heard, and it took him off guard. Not her voice, but the words she had spoken.

"You are welcome, your Majesty,"

"Regina," the Queen corrected him, "You may call me Regina," she added with a smile that made Robin's heart skip a beat.

Robin nodded and continued his way towards the tree, where he sat. He didn't know how long it would take Regina to wash herself, but he knew it would take a while. He better keep his mind occupied from imagining Regina's naked body, he better find something to distract himself or he would ended up sneaking a peek. And he had just earned Regina's trust, so he wouldn't ruin all his work because of some his body's stupid need to see Regina bathing. He dropped his gaze to the floor as he let a breath out, this had been a bad idea.

Then a carpet of flowers caught his attention. He smiled to himself, he had the perfect idea about how to keep his mind occupied as Regina took a bathe.

Before Regina stripped of the clothes she looked around, studying the plants that grew besides the river. Daniel had shown different plants' properties, she had learnt with him that some plants could be used as soaps, of course it was not the same thing as a soap, and some of them smelt pretty badly, but at least she would be clean. So she scavenged the region.

First she found a bunch of a white flower that people call _Soap Lily_, it was generally used for washing hair, since it was effective against dandruff. Then, Regina found tree of _Horse Chestnuts_, those were good for cleaning the skin, but it stank. Luckily for the Queen, she also found a bed of _Soapwort_, a pink flower that she would use for washing her body from the Horse Chestnut's odor.

Once she was done cleaning herself, she dried her body with the old dress and put on the clothes that Robin had brought her. The thought of the man who had brought her the dress made her realize that Robin hadn't made any comment since he let her take the bathe alone. Had he left her? She didn't want to admit it to herself, but the thought made her panicked a bit.

"Are you still here?" she asked, unsure if she was actually talking to someone.

"Are you done?" she heard Robin reply and exhaled a breath she didn't know she was holding.

"Almost," Regina replied getting dressed.

The pants were, indeed, a little big for her. She had to fold the ends so she wouldn't step on them. But it felt so nice to be on pants again. The shirt and the jacket fit perfectly on her body, she looked down at them, wondering how had been the previous owner. The only thing she was truly missing now where her riding boots, but luckily, she had not been traveling in heels but in flat shoes, so at least it was not unbearable.

She started walking towards Robin as she braided her damped hair. This is how she was supposed to live, wearing pants and having her hair braided, walking in the forest with no worries. No high buns and dresses, no tiaras and high heels, that was just not her.

"You should braid your hair more often," Robin said when he saw her.

"Thank you," she replied, noticing it was the second time in a day that she said those words to him. Maybe he deserved to be treated with kindness, after all he had been nothing but gentle towards her, "I haven't braided it since I married the King. I am not allowed to wear this hairstyle at court,"

"Too bad, it suits you," he commented with a shrug. "I made you something," the outlaw spoke after a while.

"You made me something?" Regina asked, and he couldn't decipher if she was shocked or disgusted by the fact that he thought he could make something worth of being hers.

"Well, don't sound so shocked," he defended his actions, "I got bored, you took an awful amount of time to bathe" Robin explained, not wanting to tell Regina the real reason behind needing to occupy his mind with something.

"It's not that," the Queen shook her head "It's just... no one has made something for me in a long time ago,"

"Except the 100 chefs that cook you dinner," Robin mocked her.

"They hardly do that because they feel like doing it, it's their job,"

And there it was: the sadness that tried to hide behind the toughness of the Queen's voice. "Here," he said, wanting to put an end to her sadness, and handing her a flower crown "It's probably not as pretty as the ones you have back home," Robin added.

"It's beautiful," Regina replied and her smile made her eyes look shinier. She didn't take the crown from Robin, instead she bowed her head a little and let him put the crown on her head.

He had not expected that reaction. Not the Queen telling that the crown was beautiful and even less allowing him to place it on top of her head. Robin set the crown gently over her hair, which smelled like flowers already. Had she made soap out of flowers? Did she even know how? There was a whole side to Regina that remained hidden behind the regal appearance that a queen is expected to have. A side that he was dying to know.

When Regina raised her head to meet his gaze with hers, she stole his breath. The Queen was a beautiful woman; but seeing her in his world, dressed as one of his own, with her beautiful hair braided and a flower crown on her head was a sight that would mesmerize any man.

"Now, you look like a true queen," he commented, a smiled at her.

"The Queen of the Woods," Regina said in a teasing tone. The tone was so foreign to herself, the feeling of be enjoying with someone else as well; but it also felt good, it made her feel happy.

"Queen of the Woods, indeed," he smiled at her, "Now, let's go back to the camp, I don't want the Merry Men to worry about us,"

"About you, you mean," she corrected him and the smiled disappeared from her face. The feeling of not being loved by anyone took over her mind again. The outlaws didn't really care what happened to her, she was just a part of their treasure, ready to be exchanged by cash, nothing less and nothing more.

"You would find that some of my men are really good company if you would give them the chance," Robin said, trying to make her feel better. He hated seeing her so fragile and broken. "I could put you on kitchen duty with Little John, if you want,"

"I don't know how to cook," Regina replied, staring at the ground.

"I've heard Little John makes an excellent culinary teacher," the outlaw said, and he dared to lift the Queen's chin with his index finger. She didn't move away, nor protest about his touch; she stood still, "Just try to enjoy yourself while you are with us,"

Regina pursed her lips into a thin smile and nodded. The problem was that she feared she'd like it too much; and then, her heart wouldn't be able to survive once the King paid the money the Merry Men were asking for her.

* * *

**NOTES**

The facts Regina uses to orientate herself are real. The moss does grow like Daniel taught Regina (if you are in the northern hemisphere). 1 mile is an average of 2000 to 2500 steps (depending on your height). These two things might come in handy if an outlaw happens to kidnap you while you are on your way to meet your husband :P - not but really, it's always good to know how to orientate yourself if your smartphone's GPS dies. And the plants that she uses are also real and were used as soaps in Europe and North America, what I do no know is they grow next to rivers - I wrote the common names, so you can google them in case you guys are interested in how they look like :)

And yes, I decided that there are flat shoes in the enchanted forrest.


	5. Chapter 5

Robin Hood was carrying out one of his daily duties: gathering wood for that evening's bonfire. But Robin's mind was far away from the clearing where his body was; his mind was with the image he had seen this morning before setting out to perform his duties: the image of Regina and little John cooking lunch. She looked so at peace, so at ease. Little John was teaching her how to smoke the meat without drying it out. And Regina had laughed at some point of the conversation - she had actually laughed, and the sound had made Robin feel calm in a way he hadn't felt in quite a long time.

He had stared at the chef and his assistant for a while, trying to memorize every single detail from the scene; he knew that moments like these wouldn't last forever. And then, Regina had raised her gaze, her chocolate-coloured eyes had locked with his eyes, and she had offered him a small smile.

The thief smiled at the memory of Regina smiling at him. Whenever she was around him, he needed to fight the urge to wrap her in his arms, to kiss her forehead and maybe her lips. But every time he touched her, his skin burned and his conscience had a fit inside his mind, both reminding him that she was not _his_. She belonged to someone else, someone who treated her like a possession rather than the most beautiful woman on earth.

A loud snap brought him back to reality, he drew his bow and an arrow and positioned himself to attack.

"It's me, Robin," he heard a familiar voice say; but to his disappointment, it was not a female voice. "Will Scarlet,"

"Will," he lowered his bow and stored the arrow with the other ones, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm on morning duty," the young thief said, "And I saw two of the King's men, they are calling for you,"

"For me?" Robin asked confused,

Will Scarlet nodded, "I think they came to bargain for the Queen,"

Will's statement made Robin's heart shrink. The King had sent his men to recover his wife, to pay for her freedom. That had been the plan all along; but, was he ready to let Regina go? '_Don't let your feelings get into the game, Hood!_' he scolded himself, '_We both know what happened last time you risked it all for a woman,_'. No, the things should go according to the plan. He needed to ask for the money and after receiving the amount he had asked, he had to give Regina back. Robin told Will to lead him towards the King's men, and thought about the things he would say as they walked.

"Gentlemen," Robin said when he saw the knights.

"Thief," one of them replied, not showing the same respect that Robin had shown towards them, "The King demands his wife back,"

"And I recall demanding an amount of money for her return to him," there was a hint of mockery on the thief's voice.

The knight that had remained silent threw a burgundy bag towards Robin, it landed in front of the thief's feet. He leaned to pick up the bag and opened it, it contained around fifty golden coins. The Merry Men could feed five towns for a month with that amount of money. But fifty coins was nothing to a King, moreover if it was to save the wife he _loved_ so much.

"We want more," Robin said closing the bag and throwing it to the same man who had held it in the first place, "Tell the King that hundred coins are the price for the Queen's freedom and save passage through the woods,"

"He won't be pleased," the man carrying the bag stated.

"Well, I am not pleased with his proposal," Robin crossed his arms, "Now, you go and tell your beloved King that if he wants to see his wife alive, he'll have hundred gold coins for me before sunday,"

"You are playing with fire, Robin Hood," the man who had spoken first said, and turned his horse to start riding back to the castle "The King is a good man, but he won't forgive this easily,"

Robin laughed as they rode away. It was not the first time he was on a King's black list, and he was sure as hell it wouldn't be the last time either. He turned around, and started marching to the place where he had left the wood that he had been gathering before he met with Will Scarlet.

"What was that?" the younger thief asked with a curious look.

"What was _what_?"

"You rejected fifty gold coins!" Will exclaimed, "We could feed the bloody realm with that!"

"She's worth more,"

"To him or to you?" it was a simple question, and it was a simple answer. But it was an answer that Robin was not ready to share, specially with one of his fellow merry men.

"Help me with the wood, Scarlet," Robin said, changing topics.

Will smiled at him and followed his leader's order without speaking another word. He knew exactly what was going on inside of Robin's head, after all, he had also found his _One and Only_. The difference was that his Ana was not married to anyone, specially not to a King. Which made his relationship with her easier than the one Robin and Regina had.

"You know," Will broke the silence once they were walking towards the camp, "I'm sure the men would understand if you explained them,"

"If I explained them what, exactly?" Robin asked, really not knowing that was Will referring to.

"That you fancy the Queen and do not wish to return her,"

In less than a couple of seconds, Robin had Will trapped between his arms and a tree, holding Will's shirt's collar with both of his fist closed. "Listen to me, Will," he said in a low and dangerous voice tone, "the Queen is not an ordinary woman, she's the King's wife. If word got out that I _fancy_ her, we would _all_ get in trouble. So I suggest you to keep your mouth shut," Robin looked straight into Will's eyes, "Do you understand?" he asked.

Will nodded, but Robin's actions had just confirmed his theory. He hadn't seen so much passion and worry in Robin eyes since the Marion fiasco/scheme. "My lips are sealed," he said.

Robin had been like a brother to him, he had taken him in and offered protection to Ana, he had been a fair leader and a true friend. Will would keep his word, he wouldn't tell anyone, but he would try to make Robin understand his feelings towards the Queen. And he knew, that just like him, the other Merry Men wouldn't complain at Robin's change of heart; most of them had seen Robin after Marion broke his heart, the others had heard the stories from the older men, they all respected Robin and believed that he deserved a happy ending.

Plus, he had also noticed the change of the Queen's behaviour. When she was brought to the camp for the first time, she had a sad and angry face and her skin was pale. Her eyes had no life, and it looked like she would crumble any second. But now she was a different woman, she smiled and even laughed from time to time, her skin had tanned a little bit, making her look healthier. And her eyes shined, especially when she looked at Robin.

The Merry Men would definitely understand. They didn't just fight for the poor, the fought for what was right; and Robin and Regina, they were _right_ for each other. Now, he _just _needed Robin and the Queen to admit to their feelings.


	6. Chapter 6

Robin had been beating himself for what felt like days, even if it had been a few hours. He had deprived Regina from her right to go home, he had deprived the Merry Men and the countrymen from food and other necessities that the money could have bought. All because _he_ wanted to be with Regina, because _he_ couldn't let her go, at least not yet.

But why? Why couldn't he let her go? Will Scarlet's words came back to his mind. Did he really fancy the Queen? She is beautiful and smart, there was no point on denying that. But, was it really true that he wanted to keep her because of that? He shook the thoughts away.

Regardless of the reasons, he had done something selfish, he had put his wishes before Regina's and that made him as bad as the King. He had treated Regina as an object, and not as the person she was. A beautiful person that had the right to choose, the right to decide if she wanted to stay with him or go back to the castle.

He had to talk to her, and ask her what did _she_ want. Because as much as it hurt him to let her go, he wanted her to be happy, and if Regina would be happy sleeping on the king-sized bed in a silk pyjama, then so be it.

"I need to tell you something." he told Regina, walking into her tent "I've done something incredible selfish,"

An '_I can hardly believe that,_' crossed Regina's mind, but she decided to stay quiet and hear what Robin had to say. He had a look of consternation on his face, coupled with guilt and self-loathing. As if he had done something that he regretted.

"Will Scarlet and I saw King Leopold's men today," Robin started.

"Oh," she let out, and he couldn't point out if she was relieved or worried. Regina was upset, but for different reasons than the ones that Robin had predicted. Had he decide to finally ship her off? He obviously got the money that the King offered for her and now he was taking her back home. And just like that, this new life that she was growing fond of had come to an end.

"They offered an amount of money and I refused it," the outlaw said, bringing Regina back to reality. He had almost blurted it out, not wanting to hold the truth much longer.

"Why?"

"I asked for more," he saw her stiffen, and he wondered if she believed that the money was the only reason behind this ransom - it had been like that at the beginning, but now everything had changed.

"Very well," she said quietly, "Please, leave me alone now," Regina almost whispered, holding the tears from rolling down her cheeks and trying to keep her heart from shredding into thousand little pieces.

Robin stood up to do as the Queen ordered, but before he said "Just so we are clear, I didn't do it for the money," he had decided to be honest with her, and honest he would be, even if that meant that she'd hate him for life, "For me, not all the gold in the kingdom makes the King worth of your presence," he explained, "I asked for more money because I realized I was not ready to let you go, and it was the only way I could think of to keep you with me,"

Regina looked at him, and he saw in her eyes something he had never seen before, something he couldn't figure out. Truth was, no one had ever valued her presence so much. Sure, Daniel had loved her and she had loved him with all her soul, but he had taken her presence for granted; after all, they had spent every day of their teenager years together. But no one had ever done anything to keep her by their side, no one had fought to be with her. And here he was, Robin, who had turned down the King's offer just to be with her. She knew Leopold, he wouldn't forgive this easily, and she was sure that Robin knew that as well. Yet, he had taken the risk.

"I judged the King because he doesn't let you choose what to do with your life, and I did just as he does. I've disappointed you and I've disappointed myself too, I am too a selfish man, no better than the King is. And for that I am sorry. You must think I'm a horrible person,"

The Queen stayed in quiet for a while, thinking on an appropriate response. Robin took the silence as his cue to leave, so he turned on his heels and started walking towards the tent's entrance.

"You are not a horrible person," Regina's voice stopped him from stepping outside the tent, "I appreciate that you came and told me, all of this," he turned on his heels, "And no, Robin, I'm not disappointed at you," she breathed in "If you really want to take my opinion into consideration," Regina started, "I -," the Queen trailed off, not wanting to expose her thoughts.

No one had ever let her make her own choices, no one except Daniel, that is. Her mother made her marry the King, the King had used her and dispose of disposed her as he pleased, Snow White had decided to make Regina her step-mother. No one had ever cared about what she thought or what her heart desired. Yet Robin had asked her, even if he had said that he didn't want to let her go, he had given her the option to choose, and that made her heart grow a little and pump faster.

He walked towards her and took her hands in his. The boldness of his action was greeted with a jerk, but then the Queen relaxed to his touch and let him squeeze her hands "Yes, Regina?" he asked her, encouraging her to speak her mind.

"I wish to stay here," Regina replied, studying their hands, then she raised her gaze and almost pleaded, "Please, don't send me back,"

"I won't," Robin said, "I'll figure a way, Regina; if you want to stay, I'll make it happen," he added, even if he knew that that would never happen.

Regina would eventually have to go back to the King, he was her husband and as much as Robin hated it, the rules of the realm were clear: no man could steal another man's woman; specially not the King's. And he knew that Regina knew that too. But he wouldn't worry about that, not today. Today she was protected in his camp, today the King wouldn't touch her or even speak to her. Today she was safe. And, without giving her any warning, he brought Regina closer and wrapped her in a hug.

A hug. Regina hadn't been hugged in such a long time that she had almost forgotten how it felt like. The Thief could feel their hearts beating like drums under their ribcages; their speed increased when the Queen slid her arms around Robin and hugged him back. She needed this, she needed comfort and protection, and even if she knew it wouldn't last, she would enjoy it as long as she could.

"Thank you," she whispered against his shoulder,

"Always,"


	7. Chapter 7

**Tripp3235**, you asked me a looooong time ago if Tinkerbell would be part of this story, so this chapter is dedicated to you

* * *

_Confused_. That is how Regina was. Completely confused, beyond any level of confusion. Which confused Regina even more.

Thankfully, the Merry Men (mostly Robin) trusted her enough to go on a walk by herself, she needed this right now. She needed time on her own to think about that was going on.

First, there was Robin, who treated her as if she mattered to him. As if he cared about her. Then, there was that feeling inside her chest that didn't let her breath. It felt like when her mother restrained her with magic, but it also felt warm and cozy - almost like when she was with Daniel. She shook her head. What was she talking about? Robin, making her feel something that could be compared to the love she had felt towards Daniel? It was ridiculous. Besides, even if there would be something going on between them, he was a thief, and she was a queen. Their story would be a tragic one, if not impossible.

But maybe, it would be good while it lasted. Wouldn't it? Wouldn't it be better to have a short life, with nothing material but filled with love rather than a long life with everything money could buy but no one to share it with?

"I wish - I wish someone could explain me what is happening to me!" Regina said in desperation and sat on a tree's root, giving up.

A breeze caught Regina's attention, they were too early into spring for such a warm raft of wind. Then she felt something else too, it reminded Regina of her mother, if her mother would have been a loving mother. Which only meant one thing: the breeze was made by magic, light magic. She looked around, to find the person that had casted it.

"Up here," a high-pitched voice called her. Regina looked up, but didn't find the person that had spoken, other than an annoying green butterfly that rested on a bush, Regina was alone. The person giggled "Wait,"

It was then when Regina saw the green butterfly transforming, more like growing, into a human-size woman dressed as a fairy. Regina studied her with curiosity, she had heard about fairies, but after making hundreds of wishes that never came true, she stopped believing in them. This lady, however, had to be a fairy, there was no other logical explanation to the green-see-through wings that sticked from her back.

"Well, this is so much better," she said, now in a normal voice "the name is Tinkerbell, but you can call me Tink,"

"You are a fairy," Regina pointed out. Tinkerbell nodded at Regina's statement "Oh, dear... did I just make a wish that actually came true?"

Tinkerbell shook her head, "You can't make wishes Regina, and even if you could, I wouldn't be able to make it true,"

"Why?"

"Why you can't make wishes? Or why I can't fulfill them?" Tink asked confused.

The Queen thought shortly about it before replying "Both,"

"Ah, well, as a daughter of an evil witch, you are not allowed to makes wishes, even if you have royal blood - which sucks and it's totally unfair,"

Regina furrowed her eyebrows at the fairy's vocabulary, she never thought such pure creatures would be so vulgar. Then again, Tinkerbell didn't seem like the average fairy that she had seen illustrated on her childhood storybooks. Her hair was blonde and her eyes were light green, unlike the usual darker colours that the fairies in her books' images had.

"And I can't grant wishes because I'm in probation," Tinkerbell keep on talking.

"Why are you in probation?" the fairy didn't reply, which made the Queen press her lips into a smile. The silence was just a proof that it had been something that the fairies would completely disapprove of, which was both amazing and amusing. This was quite an extraordinary fairy. "So, why are you here?" the brunette asked, changing topics.

"I heard you needed someone who could explain what is happening to you," Regina nodded "so, tell the beginning,"

Regina looked at her skeptically "I barely know you"

"But I know everything about you," Tink smiled, "I know when a woman is in love, and not with her husband,"

"I'm not - ," she stopped talking when she noticed Tink raised eyebrow "How would you know about all this? Are you a spy?"

"When you have been a fairy for as long as I have and seen as much places as I've seen, you know how to read humans as good as a paper from a book," the fairy smiled, "And that smitten face, I've seen it million times before you, and I'll see it million times after you,"

"Ever saw a queen falling in love with a thief?" Regina asked, hopeful that maybe someone, somewhere, sometime, had the same problem she had right now.

"No, I can't believe I have," her reply darkened Regina's face. "But, I've seen plenty of forbidden love,"

"You have?"

"Yes," Tink nodded, "They have always ended tragically, though,"

"Was it worth it?" Regina asked the same question she had wondered some time ago, but this time out-loud "While it lasted?"

"Yes," the fairy replied, and Regina believed her.

"Tell me about it,"

"Once Upon a Time, in another realm" Tinkerbell started and sat next to Regina, "There lived two families, the Montague and Capulet, they hated each other beyond any logical reason. One night, the Capulet family decide to throw a party; and Romeo, a member of the Montague family decides to sneak in,"

The fairy's mind travelled to the faraway land, where the food and the wine were so good, as if it was made by the God Dionysius himself. To the night of the party, where she had presence the start of what could have been the greatest love story ever told by mankind.

"Romeo was looking for a woman called Rosaline, but instead he meets Juliet, both girls members of the Capulet family," Tink continued with her story. "As soon as Romeo sees Juliet he falls deeply and madly in love with her," she smiled absently, she remembered the look on Romeo's face as if it had been yesterday. "Later that night, Romeo climbs into Juliet's room and they swear love to each other, and they agree on marrying,"

"Just like that?" Regina asked, "What about the hate between their families?"

What about the hate? she wanted to ask. How could someone forgive and forget the hate that they had felt so easily? Her mind travelled to her stepdaughter, and to the way the Queen felt about the Princess - the emotion was hard to name, but Regina was sure it was close to hate. Snow White had, after all, ruined her life; Daniel, an innocent and sweet man had died because of the girl.

"Sometimes you need to let go of that hate to fully enjoy life, Regina," the fairy replied before continued with the story, and for a moment Regina thought that Tink could read her mind, "They married in secret the next day,"

"That easy?" the Queen looked confused, "How is that supposed to be a tragic end?"

"Because that is not the end, but the beginning," now, the fairy's face was not full of joy and all the shine in her eyes had turned dull, "Romeo was challenged to death by a Capulet, he didn't accept the duel. But Romeo's cousin, to protect the Montague's and Romeo's pride, accepted the duel. When he is fatally wounded, Romeo decided to break the fight, and ended up killing the Capulet,"

"He avenged his cousin's death, that's understandable," Regina reasoned.

"Not for the Prince ruling in that realm," Tinkerbell replied, "He exiled Romeo. But their tragic story is not to end there," the fairy continued, "Juliet was being forced to married another man, and she sought me for help,"

Regina shivered, she could empathize with Juliet. Being forced to marry someone was the worse curse that a woman in love could suffer. She wished she would have had someone like Tinkerbell to help her get out of her arranged marriage.

"I gave her a sleeping potion," Tink confessed, "One that was only supposed to last 24 hours, enough for her to be buried, and then she'd run away with Romeo," guilt was taking over the fairy, and Regina could see that. The Queen's stomach turned into stone, she had lived long enough with her mother to know that Magic always came with a price, "I sent a message to Romeo, letting him know about the plan, but it never reached to him,"

A tear escaped from the fairy's eye, but she was quick enough to wipe it.

"Romeo heard about Juliet's death and got a poison from the dark one, then went to the Capulet crypt and drank the potion, ending his life next to his beloved wife's body," her voice shivered. Regina's heart broke a little bit, not only because the story was too close for comfort, but because the fairy seemed wrecked about it.

Tinkerbell remembered when she had gotten to the crypt, it had been too late to save Romeo, too late to prevent Juliet's heartbreak. There was no blood, yet, but it felt so morbid, so sad. Romeo's corpse was lying next to his wife, so young, so lifeless, so wrong.

"When Juliet woke up and realized that Romeo was dead, she stabbed herself and died too," silence fell between the two ladies, "and that's why I'm in probation,"

"It was not your fault, Tinkerbell," Regina said after a while, patting the fairy's back, "You were trying to help, you couldn't foresee that the messenger would not reach Romeo in time,"

"But it was my fault," the blonde said in an almost inaudible voice tone, "Hadn't I given the potion to Juliet, she wouldn't have died, neither would have Romeo,"

"And they would have lived terrible sad lives," the Queen replied, "They took a risk for their love, and it didn't have a good outcome, but they tried,"

"I guess you have the answer to your own problem, then," Tinkerbell smiled, but the joy didn't reach her eyes. "I'll be going, otherwise I'll get in even more trouble," the fairy stood up and started to shirk to her pixie size "It was nice talking to you, Regina Mills," the blonde admitted, her high pitched voice was back.

"It was nice talking to you too, Tinkerbell," Regina admitted with a smile,

"If you ever need someone to talk to, I'll be around,"

Regina nodded and looked as the fairy flew away. Romeo and Juliet's story was, indeed, a tragic one, but they had risk their life to make their story work. And she wanted to believe, with all her heart, that right now the star crossed lovers were stars in the sky, and they didn't regret their choices for they were together now and for eternity. Wasn't that worth the risk?

She looked up at the starts, the sun had set while she was talking to Tinkerbell and the white dots on the night sky were already starting to shine. When Regina was a little girl and her nanny died, her father had explained that when people die they fly to the sky and shine on the people that they protected. It might have been a naive way of thinking, but Regina had held into that story for many years. It had made her feel less alone and it made the pain that her mother inflicted on her be more bearable.

"There you are," a male voice broke the silence that had surrounded Regina ever since the fairy had left her to her thoughts.

Regina shifted her gaze from the sky to the ground, to notice that Robin was walking towards her, "I was looking at the stars,"

"I see," Robin stopped few inches away from where she was sitting, "May I?" he asked, pointing the place where Tinkerbell had sat a while ago. Regina nodded and the Thief sat next to her. The Queen silently thanked for the warmth that Robin's body, it was getting cold. "Do you know the stars?"

"Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Draco, Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Bootes, Cancer, Crater, Hydra, Leo, Virgo," Regina recited, looking again towards the sky.

For anyone who was not familiar with the stars that could be seen during spring, those names would have resulted strange and random, but Robin knew perfectly what Regina was talking about: the constellations.

"Aren't you a box full of surprises?" Robin said in a teasing tone,

"What do you mean?"

"I hardly think they taught you that in '_How to be a Queen_' course,"

"I was a girl before I was a queen, and I had ..." her voice trailed off and her heart sank. She had a lover, but she wouldn't tell that to Robin, it would only open wounds, "I had a friend, he taught me those things,"

Robin realized that Regina was keeping something for herself, but he didn't push her into telling him. "He taught you well," the Thief said, "He must be proud of you,"

"Yes," Regina said, noticing how a star next to the Leo constellation, a star that she had never seen before, shinned brighter, "I'm sure he is,"

The thief didn't say anything else, he just slid his hand against Regina's, tangling their fingers together. He expected her to pull away; surprisingly, she didn't and it felt refreshing. He decided to gaze at the stars as well, he looked at the Cassiopeia constellation and noticed something new on the sky, two stars he had never seen before.

"Some stars appear to shine brighter tonight," he commented, still staring at the constellation, "Look at those two stars, next to Cassiopeia,"

Regina shifted her gaze from the Leo to the Cassiopeia constellations, "Yes," the Queen agreed with him, "There's also a single star next to Leo,"

"If I wouldn't know any better, I'd say they are shinning for us," Robin smiled, and then their gazes locked. Brown eyes getting lost into the blue ones.

"Maybe they are," Regina replied, not looking away and squishing Robin's hand. And for the first time in a long time, she believed that.


	8. Chapter 8

Big thanks to my awesome adopted-sister, Alex (**wolfergirl**), who was this chapter's beta.

* * *

Daily bathes were a privilege that Regina now fully enjoyed. Robin didn't understand how could someone bathe so frequently, but he went with her nevertheless. Even if her survival skills were excellent, he didn't feel comfortable leaving her to roam alone in the woods. Besides, he liked spending time with Regina, since she would tell him about life in the Castle and the court, and then they would compare it to Robin's life when he was a knight. Unsurprisingly, attending to the court was not fun in any kingdom. Robin was glad, however, that the Merry Men's mischief were nothing but a headache to the King.

"What day is it today, Robin?" Regina asked as they walked back to the camp.

"Friday, why?"

"Sunday is two days away," she pointed out and he tensed up at the reminder.

More than one week ago, when he and Will Scarlet had met the White Knights, he had told them that the King had one week to collect the hundred gold coins he would pay for his wife. Now Robin regretted not asking for more time.

"Maybe they won't come on Sunday," the thief said, "He knows I'll never hurt you."

"Does he?" Regina asked, stopping in her tracks. She wanted to believe that Leopold wouldn't come after her, but she knew she was his most precious possession. "He knows nothing. For all he knows, you and your men are nothing but bandits holding me for ransom."

Regina kept on talking, but Robin wasn't listening to her at all. Another sound had caught his attention. A sound that was foreign to the forest: the gallop of several horses, maybe three, maybe four. The thief looked around, trying to spot them. Out of the corner of his eye he saw four men behind the trees. His blood froze. They were White Knights. The beating of his heart was the only thing he could hear.

_Lubdub, lubdub._

They were going to take Regina away, take her back to the castle, to her prison.

_Lubdub, lubdub._

He was outnumbered. There was no chance in hell he would be able to defeat them. He couldn't not protect Regina, he could not keep his word.

_Lubdub, lubdub._

The knights were still couple of miles away; he couldn't outrun them, but they could hide. Yes, hide. That's what he needed to do. He needed to think and act fast. He needed to protect the Queen. _His_ Queen.

"Robin." Regina grabbed his forearm. "Are you even paying atte -,"

He didn't let her finish. He didn't even take the time to explain what was going on. He covered her mouth and pushed her to the ground, falling on top of her. Luckily they were not travelling on any road, and they had fell between some bushes that would hopefully cover them until the knights passed them, until they could seek a hiding place and he was sure that Leopold's men were not around. Robin felt Regina trying to move below him, to free herself, but he kept her anchored to the ground.

"Do not make a sound," he whispered against her ear in a way that made all her nerves combust. She nodded and he took his hand of her mouth.

"What on earth are you doing?" Regina murmured, but he didn't reply. He didn't move from above her either, keeping her pinned to the dirt. She wanted to repeat her question, but she knew Robin would only give her a scolding look, after all he had told her to keep quiet.

The Queen tried to lock gazes with the thief, trying to get a silent message from his blue eyes; but he was looking around, and not once did he look down at her. Then she heard the pace of horses, and the voices of men and it all became clear. They were looking for someone; no, not someone - for them. They were looking for the Merry Men and the Queen.

"They can't be too far away," one yelled. "When we were ambushed it was two miles ahead of this road."

"And McFayden said he found the two outlaws in this area too." They were Leopold's men, she realised.

Robin was scared and angry at the knights. He felt threatened and he didn't have to say anything to Regina for her to know and see that. She knew that the Merry Men were more than his colleagues - she knew they were his family, and she knew that he would kill anyone who was a danger to them. The Queen feared he would do something stupid. The knights kept on talking about the Merry Camp and the men that lived on it and how they would suffer the King's wrath.

Regina knew Robin's flight or fight instincts were kicking in - and not precisely to run away. She could feel Robin's heart beat faster and his muscles tensing around her. Regina did her best to try not to think about how fit Robin was, and how hot she suddenly felt.

Her mind travelled to the first time he had tackled her. It had not been as pleasant an experience as this one, but she remembered how safe she had felt in his arms; how safe she feels in his arms. She shook the thoughts away. This was not the time and the place and it would never be; maybe in another life, when she was not the Queen.

"Let's scatter and scour the area," Regina heard a third knight say. "We'll find the camp, take the Queen and burn it down to ashes. The King said that we didn't have to bring any prisoners, only Robin Hood."

Those words seemed to trigger something inside Robin's mind, because he tried to jump up, flexing his arms, ready to run towards the men, only to be stopped by the Queen. Regina had slid her arms around his ribcage. "Robin," she whispered in a way that made him look down at her, almost forgetting about everything else around them. She was so frightened by the situation. She didn't want Robin engaging a fight that he would most likely lose. She didn't want to lose _him_.

He relaxed and leaned a little bit against the Queen, to reassure her silently that he wouldn't go away, and she tightened her grip on him. If the knights found them in their current position, he would be killed on spot, but it was a risk he was willing to pay, just to be in Regina's arms for a few minutes. The star-crossed lovers lay like that for a while, even after the knights had galloped away, off to search other parts of the forest.

Neither one of them wanted to move so they just stared into each other's eyes wondering how different their lives would be if they could actually give in to the strange yet not unpleasant attraction. _Maybe_, Robin thought, they could give in, maybe they could let go of whatever excuse they were hanging onto. Maybe she was his true love, and maybe he was her happy ending. His gaze travelled from her eyes to her lips. He had never noticed how beautiful and perfect they were, how inviting they looked.

"We should," Regina cleared her throat and it made Robin lean a bit away from her. "We should get going and tell the Merry Men about the King's men."

Robin nodded and let out a breath. He couldn't help but feel disappointed at how the situation had ended. Maybe they were not ready to cross that line. _Yet._

"We are not going back to the camp tonight," the thief said, "It's too risky with the knights wandering around, for us and for the rest of the Merry Men."

The outlaw stood up and extended a hand to help her, she took it without second thoughts. Robin pulled her up, with a little bit more strength than he needed to lift the Queen's light body; but when she ended with her hands against his chest, he realised that he had done it on purpose, and he wasn't a bit ashamed of his actions. Robin held Regina for couple of seconds and then let her go, not wanting to get used to her body pressed against his.

Silently, he reached for one of the arrows from the quiver that hung from his back and took a red ribbon out of his boot.

"What are you doing?" the Queen asked as she saw him tying the ribbon to the arrow's fletching.

"I'm sending a signal," he explained, "There's always someone in the treetops looking at the sky, so if any of the men find out about something or someone who could harm the Merry Camp, he shoots an arrow to the sky. That way we know about any threat."

Then, Robin Hood strung the arrow and shot it into the sky. "Now they'll be on high alert."

"And what about us?" Regina inquired, and for a while he thought she meant about what was going on between them.

Then he realised that she was wondering about what they would do if they couldn't go back to the camp. "We'll have to sleep in a tree."

"In a tree?" She arched an eyebrow. Well, this was completely new to her.

"Why yes, princess."

"I'm not a princess," the woman argued. "I'm a queen."

"So everyone keeps telling me," he smiled. "Now, let's find a tree."

They walked stopping every minute or so to hear if there was someone near them. Robin's paranoia had started to annoy Regina; but after he snapped at her and told her that if she would rather return to the castle with the guards than to stop every two minutes she could just scream for help, she decided to stay silent and do as he commanded.

Soon they reached a tree that seemed fitting for their purposes. One with thick, almost straight, branches and plenty of open spaces between the branches. He also made sure to pick a tree that was not bare of leaves because climbing a dead tree would be a deadly experience - literally.

"Do you know how to climb a tree?" he asked, taking his quiver off and giving it to Regina. He kept the rope he always carried with him wrapped around his torso.

Regina shook her head. "I've never climb a tree in my life."

"Seriously?" She shook her head again. "What a horrible childhood you must have had." He had meant it as a joke, but the way her face lost its brightness told him that he had hit a nerve. He didn't know what to say to make her feel better. He wanted to hug her, but he was afraid that touching her had become addictive, so he refrained from it. "I'll climb and tie a couple of knots in the rope to make it easier for you to climb," he proposed.

Regina nodded and stayed on the ground, watching him climb with ease. He probably did that every day. She wondered if Daniel knew how to climb trees. A part of her doubted it. He would have taught her if he knew, since he taught her everything he knew. Once Robin reached the branches where they would sleep, he tied the rope and threw it down. But he didn't stay in the tree, instead shinning down to help Regina.

"What if I fall?"

"Don't worry," Robin replied. "Monkeys sleep in trees, I'm sure we'll be fine."

"Monkeys sleep in trees," Regina repeated, shaking her head. "What is that supposed to mean? Horses sleep standing up, that doesn't mean we can do it," she argued.

"I heard once that there was a man in another realm who claims that we come from the monkeys."

That made statement made Regina laugh, like she hadn't laughed in a long time. Robin, however, didn't take pleasure in the Queen's laughter, he knew she was laughing at him. And he didn't like it when people laughed at him.

"Us? From monkeys?" she said between chuckles. "Are you out of your mind? What are you going to tell me next? That man will walk on the moon?"

"Well, there is a saying that the sky is the limit," Robin argued, not amused that she was now making fun of him.

"Alright, Robin," Regina calmed down from the burst of laughter. "Do show me how your ancestors slept in trees, please."

The thief explained how to climb a tree in great depth and detail, attempting to impart every ounce of knowledge he had on the subject in as short a space of time as possible. He climbed behind her, reassuring the Queen that he would catch her in case she missed a step. He doubted it, though; if she missed a step, they would both fall to their deaths, but there was no point in telling her that and putting more pressure on her.

They reached the branches by the time the sun was already hiding behind the Enchanted Forest Mountains. He used the little light they had left to tie Regina's waist and legs to the tree. He explained that it was a safety measure, otherwise one turn in her sleep and she would fall out of the tree. Neither the explanation, nor the rope around her waist made her feel any safer, but she trusted Robin, and she knew that he would never put her in unnecessary danger.

After securing Regina to the branch, he clambered to the branch above it. He didn't tie himself; firstly because he was used to sleeping in trees and secondly because the only rope he had was holding Regina to the tree. He didn't care, though. Her safety would always come before his.

With the last rays of sun, the coldness came. At least the leaves served as a shelter from the wind. He could hear Regina's teeth chattering and even if he was lying on his back and couldn't see her, he knew her lips must be turning blue by now.

"Are you cold?"

"No." She failed to speak without her voice trembling.

Robin smiled. "Why do you have to be so stubborn?"

"Why does it matter?" Regina retorted, "It's not like you can produce a blanket, can you?"

He didn't reply, but he took his shirt off and handled it to her. Regina didn't take it at first. "For God's sake, Regina! It's clean!"

"That's not what bothers me," the Queen answered, and he imagined her rolling her eyes. "You'll freeze."

"The cold doesn't bother me," Robin stated and shook his hand, prompting Regina to take his shirt and put it on top of her own clothes.

When Regina passed the shirt over her head, she could smell Robin's scent. It made her shiver. _No_, she scolded herself – she was shivering because she was cold. After tucking the hem of Robin's shirt into her pants, she laid down again. Robin's back was now visible to her, and it was by no means a terrible view. Her eyes paused at the scars, and she remembered the story of how he got them. He had told it to her the first time they met.

Once again, she found herself battling against the urge to touch him. But this time, emotions won over wisdom, and she reached out to caress the marks on Robin's skin. At first, he flinched due to her cold fingertips, but then he relaxed into her touch.

"Do they hurt?" Regina asked, feeling how his skin warmed her fingers.

"Not anymore," he replied. "Time heals all wounds."

_Time heals all wounds_, she repeated to herself. Those words weren't made for physical wounds, they were meant for heart breaks. She remembered how Robin's expression had changed when he had decided to leave his story unfinished. He had told her he had stayed to fight, even after he was tortured by his King. He had told her that he hadn't run away. And then he said that the rest of the story was for another time.

"I can feel you thinking," he interrupted her.

"I'm wondering," she replied, taking her fingers away from Robin's back.

He turned onto his front to face Regina. "About?" he was resting his head on one of his arms and the other one swung freely from the upper tree.

"You said you were a knight once," Regina said. "And that you refused to keep collecting taxes, and that's how you got the scars," the Queen continued. "Then I asked you if you left after that, and you said you didn't. Yet, you are here," she pointed out. "So ..."

"You were wondering how I got here, and why didn't I fight until I saw my plan through?" he finished for her, and Regina nodded.

There was silence between them. Robin was studying her, wondering if he was ready to tell that story. Regina held his gaze, curious.

"I was in love once," he started, and she wondered what it had to do with this story. "Her name was Marian, and we were meant for each other, or at least that's what I thought," Robin said, and Regina noticed how those words seemed to hurt him more than touching his scars had. "She was a noblewoman, and her father was part of the King's court," he continued. "When I told her about the King exploiting the countrymen she didn't believe it, so I took her to the country so she could see it with her own eyes."

Robin knew there was no stopping now. "She decided to join my cause, even after I was captured the first time she stayed by my side," he stopped and remembered Maid Marian. All the promises they had made, all the dreams they had shared. "It was when I was imprisoned for the second time that I understood something was not right. The King's men knew our plan, every single detail. I understood that someone had to be spying on us."

"It could have been anyone," Regina pointed out.

"It was only Little John, Will Scarlet and me back then," Robin replied. "And Marian. Some of the Merry Men were countrymen back then, they saw what happened, but were not part of it," he added. "We were incarcerated and charged for treason, our sentence was to hang in the main square." If Robin closed his eyes, he could still hear the crowd screaming in anger as he and his colleagues walked towards their death. "Before we were to be hanged, the King announced his blessing on the marriage of his eldest son and my Marian."

My Marian. His voice had faltered while he said those words out loud, and Regina could see that it still felt like a knife in the wound to talk about her.

"We almost didn't manage to escape." Robin's voice was dull, and he picked at a piece of bark next to his head. "I had no willpower to live anymore, but some of the countrymen, the ones that joined us after that event, had a plan. With their help we ran away from the castle and the kingdom, and we came here, to the woods."

He finished his story and kept quiet, wondering what Regina would make of it. Would she make fun of him, of his weakness after Marian had betrayed him? But when she spoke, she didn't make any comment regarding Robin's sad story.

"There were many times I wanted to do it, you know?" She was sitting now, with her legs still tied to the tree and her torso leaning backwards on her extended arms.

"Do what?"

"Run away, to live like this, in the forest," she replied. "Wandering alone, stealing just to survive the day."

Robin smiled. Regina never ceased to amuse him. "Do enlighten me: what would you eat?"

"Pine needles, they have a high nutritional value."

"Did your friend also teach you that? The one that taught you how to survive in the forest?" She nodded. "Can you tell me about him?"

"His name was Daniel," she started, and a smile immediately lightened her face up. "He worked at out stables."

Regina continued, telling Robin about how Daniel taught her how to bond with and ride her horse, Rocinante. How he took her to the forest and taught her how to survive on her own. Their first kiss. How he taught her about love, and friendship and compassion. Robin couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy when she spoke so fondly about Daniel; Robin wanted Regina to speak in that manner about him. The Queen seemed more than happy to talk about Daniel, as if she hadn't remembered the good days she spent with him in a long time. And then, she went mute.

"So, what happened to him? Where is he now?" Robin asked, noticing she had stopped talking.

"He's dead," she replied. "My mother killed him in front of me."

Robin didn't know how to answer that. Never in his whole life had he imagined that she had to live through such a horrible experience. When he noticed a tear running down Regina's cheek he decided to move to her branch and sit behind her. She leaned back, and Robin hugged her and reclined his body against the trunk.

Regina didn't finish the story. Compared to Marian's betrayal of Robin, Snow's betrayal seemed small - almost insignificant. At least Regina knew that their love story, hers and Daniel's, was a real one; Robin didn't have that, he was betrayed by the one he loved.

And, did Snow really really destroyed Regina's happy ending. Yes, Regina had suffered a great deal with the King; but if it hadn't been for Snow White, she wouldn't have been traveling through the woods, and would never have met Robin. She was happy with Robin. Maybe it was time to let her anger dissipate.

But her happiness wouldn't last long, she recognised and she leaned even more into Robin's embrace. Eventually, Regina would have to return to the castle, to the Queen's duties, and to Snow White. Regina clenched her teeth; how foolish had she been to think she could ever forgive Snow White, to think she could actually forgive the girl and let go of her hate.

No.

Snow White had ruined her life once. And when the time came, and Regina returned to the castle, Snow would be waiting for her with a big grin and a warm hug; and then she would be responsible for ruining Regina's life for a second time. She had to make Snow pay, for all the things she had done, for all the things she would do.

"What are you thinking about?" Robin's voice made her thoughts of vengeance disappear.

"Nothing," she lied and went back to being silent. This time her thoughts were not working on a scheme against Snow White, but they were wandering around Robin's arms around her body, and how good they made her feel. "Robin," Regina said after a while. "I have to go to the bathroom."

"Damn." Now that was something he hadn't prepared for.

* * *

**NOTES (lots of them):**

The way I wrote the sounds made by Robin's heart are the way they are written in my textbooks - I'm sorry if it's sounds weird, but I wanted to be medically correct :P

I'm aware that I changed the original_ Robin Hood_ tale. But I had planned to make Marian a _biatch_ ever since I started writing the story.

Since most of you like surviving things:

I'm pretty sure you all know humans can sleep in trees. The things that Robin looks in a tree is the things you should look: full of boughs (tree branches with leaves) so you know the tree is not dead and straight and thick branches so they don't break under you weight. You should know how to climb a tree before trying to climb one, I don't know how to teach you that - I hope you all got the chance to do that as kids. Nowadays you can buy hammocks and other sleeping devices to sleep on trees, but it is always advised to tie yourself to the tree. Better safe than sorry!

A (Swedish) friend once told me that she was taught as a kid that if she ever got lost in the woods she should eat pine needles, not the dark green ones but the bright green that usually sprout on spring (I tried to look for the name and failed). I tried to look information that backed her story up, but had no luck. So, I'm not sure if the needles are highly nutritional. However, I did find that if you are lost in the woods, look for a dead animal and eat the worms that are eating the meat because they are high in the proteins you will need for survival, do not eat the meet because you could ingest harmful bacteria.


	9. Chapter 9

**WARNING!**

This update contains mild violence.

* * *

When Robin woke up he was still lying against the tree with Regina wrapped and secure in his arms. The scent of the forest that the Queen had used to wash her hair made him feel like he was lying on a flower bed in the prairies of his homeland. Robin breathed in to absorb the smell and exhaled as slowing as he could, not wanting to wake Regina up.

He hated that this was temporary, that he wouldn't be able to hold Regina like this every morning for the rest of their lives. It made him want to walk into the White Castle and kill the King with his own hands, not really caring about his child. It came as a realisation, that irrational hate caused by the inability to control over his happy ending. Regina _was_ his happy ending, he was in love with her. He thought that he'd never find love again, that no one will ever make him feel like Marian had made him feel once. But Regina proved him wrong, and once again his happiness would be ripped from his heart. And it hurt, like nothing he had felt before, not even Marian's betrayal.

"I have an idea," Regina soft tone came almost as a whisper, as if she was afraid that someone might hear them. The tip of her fingers caressed gently his naked chest, and it make him feel loved and wanted, as if someone cared for him.

"I thought you were asleep," the Merry Man stated, wondering what would Regina think of him taking in consideration that he had held her so long, without waking her up.

"You were trying too hard to keep your breathing steady," she replied, moving away from Robin.

But she didn't tell him the real reason to why she woke up when he was slowing his breathing: his heartbeat had decelerated too. And that the change in his heartbeat sounds was what had woken Regina up, at first it had almost cause her to panic, thinking he had died, but then she realised his heart had not stopped, merely slowed down.

"So, your idea," Robin pointed out, going back to the topic.

"Ah, yes," she nodded, "We could maybe go to a near village and send the King a messenger," Regina explained while she took Robin's shirt off and handled it to him.

For a moment Robin had thought that she was undressing, and was disappointed when he saw her fully clothed and handling him his shirt. Then, he scolded himself for his dirty thoughts. "And what should we tell him?"

"That you are mad that the Knights are roaming through the woods, and for that you'll ask for more money," Regina said, "And give him extra time to get it,"

"All this plan is for you to buy more time with me?" he asked with a smirk, "And here I was, thinking that you considered me a thief and a moron," Robin's smirk only grew wider when he remember their first day together and how she had addressed to him.

Regina didn't reply to that, her eyes were too busy staring at Robin's chest - which she hadn't been able to appreciate last night due the lack of light.

"Regina?"

"Would you please put your shirt on?"

Robin smirked at her request "I think I like the effect my body has on your tongue," he commented, and by the flush on her cheeks she clearly had misinterpreted what he had meant "I meant your speech,"

"You often forget I am your Queen, _Thief_," Regina pointed out, but her tone was teasing, "You should do as I say,"

Robin wondered if it always had to be a struggle for power with Regina, so he decided to push his luck and say "Now, be nice or I won't send that messenger to the King, _your_husband," he used the same tone she had used, because two could play this game.

Regina crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, not buying Robin's attitude and deciding not to speak until he did as she said. He understood her silence, apparently it _was_ always a struggle for power with Regina. With a shit-eating grin still on his face, he put his shirt on.

Once Robin's toned body was out of Regina's sight and Regina could think normally, she asked Robin to help her off the tree and the they walked towards the closest village. Their walk, as usual was not a silent one. Normally, Robin liked to be quiet and listen to nature's sound, but Regina was an exception to that rule.

She was an exception to all rules. Like never mess around a married woman, never develop feelings towards a hostage and never follow a woman's command, among others.

Unlike other women of her upbringing, Regina liked to share her opinions and thoughts about everything, and Robin couldn't help but to find her interesting and smart. She was perfect in every single way.

It was nearly midday when they saw a sign of civilization. It was not a proper town, but it was a shepherd house, someone would probably take the message to the King for a couple of coins.

Robin and Regina strolled the house slowly, not wanting the people who lived there to think they were a threat. No one appeared on the porch as the two of them approached to the humble cottage and they only found a young blond boy standing next to the sheep's barnyard.

"Good morning, boy," Robin greeted him, and it make the blond boy look at him, "What's your name?"

"I'm David," he said "And you are Robin Hood, aren't you?"

"That I am, boy," the Thief nodded,

"Is that her?" David pointed at Regina "The Queen you stole?"

Robin looked at Regina, not knowing what to say. It was her who answered the boy's question "Yes, David, my name is Regina, and we need you to deliver a message to the King,"

"For you, Sir, anything," David smiled at Robin, "But I have to warn you, King Leopold's castle is a one day long ride away, I wont be there until tomorrow,"

Robin nodded, he knew the shepherd's house was not in Leopold's Kingdom; he had walked into King George's Kingdom on purpose. The thief was not sure Leopold's countrymen would betray their King, either out of respect or fear.

"You will tell the King that due to the search party he sent into the woods last night, now I triple the price for his Queen, the exchange will be in two weeks time," Robin told the boy.

"Is that all?" he asked the message was not hard to remember: triple the amount, in two weeks.

"Here's for your trouble," Hood gave two gold coins to the Shepherd, "And this one is to cover your trip," he added, giving one extra coin to the boy.

"Thank you, Sir," David nodded politely, "I'll part as soon as I say goodbye to my mother," he added, and then disappeared into his house.

Robin and Regina walked back towards the forest, and from its edge they watched as David rode off at a quick gallop.

"I hope we didn't send the boy into his death," Robin commented as the boy and his horse disappeared in the horizon

"Leopold is many things, but his not a child abuser," they both knew she was never fast to defend her husband, so Regina must believe what she was saying "I'm sure no harm will come to David," or at least that's what she hoped.

Regina slipped her hand into Robin's, searching for reassurance on his proximity. The first time they had held hands it had been almost by accident, but Regina had grown fond of the touch.

"Had you sent the kid's father, well, that would have been a different story," the Queen pointed out, going back to her usual _I-hate-the-King_ mode.

"I'll believe it, if that's what you say, my Queen," Robin said in a teasing tone, but when he raised her hand and kissed her knuckles, as most peasants would greet their queen, he couldn't ignore the electric wave that ran from his lips towards his heart and made it shake like a thunder shook the ground.

His eyes locked with Regina's and for a moment the world fade, and nothing (not even the King) seemed to matter to them. He loved her, his heart belonged to her for all eternity; what an irony, someone had stolen the prince of Thieves' heart.

Regina was the first to acknowledge that they had been staring into each others' eyes and holding hands for a longer time than it was sociable acceptable, even if their relationship was not really a conventional one. And she finding herself unwilling to let go made her blush slightly - which made her more adorable in Robin's eyes.

"Let's go home," Regina said breaking the eye contact, she didn't know when she had started referring to the merry camp as home, but it felt right.

* * *

_**One day later... At the King's palace.**_

If the King had been disturbed by the news David had just told him, he did not show it. King Leopold sat on his throne with a glass of wine on one hand, his daughter, princess Snow White, sitting next to him.

"Was she with him?" the King asked him, and after David didn't reply he motioned a guard to step forward.

The guard nodded at his King and walked towards David, who was studying the hem of his shirt, and hit the kid with the grip of his sword on the neck, making David fall on his knees.

He grabbed David by the hair and pulled him upwards "The King asked you a question," he said in a dangerously low voice tone as Snow White yelled in shock for her father to stop the guard, she was clearly not used to watch violence.

"Was she with him?" the King repeated, ignoring his daughter's plea.

And this time, reluctantly David replied."Yes, your majesty. She was,"

"Did she look happy?"

Once again, David didn't answer when the King asked him a question. And as consequence for his acts, the Knight dropped David and kicked him in the stomach.

"_Did. She. Look. Happy?_" the King asked, making emphasis in each word.

Another kick to David's stomach, apparently no one treated the King with such disregard. "Yes, your majesty," David spat after a while, feeling like he was betraying his own family, "She did look happy,"

The King threw his wine glass against the floor, startling the crying princess.

"Guards!" he yelled, his face was crimson. Two men rushed towards him "I will not deal with traitors, find Robin Hood, I don't care if you have to burn that goddamned forest to the ground, and bring me my wife and his head," the King shouted his orders. "Or better yet, bring him alive and I'll cut his head and fed it to the people,"

"What about the boy?" one guard pointed at David.

"Kill him,"

"No father, please!" Snow White pleaded and leaped from her seat into her father's lap, "He's just an innocent boy who was carrying a message,"

Leopold looked at his daughter, and for a moment his face softened, it was always like that, Snow White always made him be a better person. But then, he remembered he was at war with Robin Hood, and people that helped the Thief deserved to be punished. "Put him in a dungeon cell until we find Robin Hood, it will teaching him about not making allies with an outlaw," one guard nodded at his order "Let everyone know that anyone who helps Robin Hood are enemies of the Crown, and they will be treated as such. Everyone who does not wish to collaborate will find the dungeons their new home,"

And with that he dismissed the guards, who went off trying to follow the King's vengeful orders.


	10. Chapter 10

By the time Robin and Regina got to the camp that evening, word about the King's wish for Robin's head, along with his new prisoner, had already reached the Merry Men's ears. Will Scarlet's fiancée, Ana, had heard the news from a woman at the local market; as soon as the girl heard, she ran into the woods as if her dear life depended on it, hoping Will would find her. And find her he did. At first, he didn't understand what was all the fuzz about, but when Ana's breathing calmed down and she was able to pronounce all the news in one sentence, Will's face lost its colour.

The scenario that Robin had placed inside Will's head few days ago had become real. The King was going to kill Robin. And it was all his fault. When he first suggested kidnapping the Queen for ransom, he never expected the outcome to be like this. Then again, he didn't expect Robin and Regina falling in love, which was the cause of this all mess. If Robin didn't love Regina, he would have accepted the King's first offer and they would all be happier now.

'_All except Robin and Regina, that is_,' he thought. Will still stood by the fact that Robin had never been this happy, not since Marian, and even before that. He deserved it more than anyone. There had to be a way to fix this; or at least half of it, the half that involved Robin getting killed by the King.

They could have to sneak into the castle and free the boy, that much was sure. And regarding Regina, as much as he hated to admit it, she had to go back, otherwise both Robin and Regina would end up dead. Sadly, he knew that Robin was too stubborn to agree with this part of the plan.

Will promised Ana he would be careful and asked her to go back home. He didn't return with her, he went to the Merry Camp, where his colleagues took the news as bad as he had, just few minutes ago. Their afternoon activities were cancelled, all of them searching for a sign of their leader and the love of his life. It wasn't until almost midnight that they exhaled all the worry that had been building inside their chest for the last hours.

When Robin and Regina walked into the camp with their hands linked, no one questioned it. No one did anything. The merry men just stared at them. It didn't take long before the Thief and the Queen noticed that something was going on, but before they could ask, Little John ran towards them and wrapped them in one hug.

"When you didn't return from Regina's bath we figure you wanted some time alone," Little John started explaining, still holding them tightly, "But then we saw the arrow, and after today's news..." his voice trailed off. "We were so worried!" the man let Robin and Regina go as the rest of the Merry Men, who had surrounded their leader, the Queen and the speaker, agreed with him.

"What news?" Regina asked confused, Robin and her hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary as they walked back.

Little John took a step backwards, not wanting to be the bearer of bad news so Will Scarlet updated them with the news that Ana had heard on the market. Robin tightened his fists as he heard the story, and Regina's legs gave up on her - luckily, one merry man caught her before she hit the ground and helped her walk towards a rock that was big enough for her to sit on. Robin stood next to her, placing one of his palms on her shoulder, holding it tightly but not enough to hurt her.

It was their fault, Robin and Regina knew. They had sent a boy to convey bad news to the King, just because they had been selfish. The boy, who had easily trusted them, who had accepted their request with pride, was now lying on a cold cell inside the King's dungeon. Just imagining the shepherd surrounded by rats and cockroaches made Robin's blood boil, he felt like he could walk into the castle and kill Leopold with no remorse. First, he had made Regina's life a living hell, and now he was torturing an innocent boy. He needed to be stopped.

"Robin," he heard the pain in Regina's voice, but it snapped him out of his vengeful thoughts. Robin looked into her eyes, and he saw she felt it too: the guilt, the pain.

The Thief kneeled in front of his Queen and took her hands on his, "We will get him back," he reassured her.

"I will turn myself in,"

"No!" he almost roared, when he noticed the tone he had used with her he breathed in and repeated, this time in a lower tone, "We will make a plan, and we will get him out," Robin said, brushing one of Regina's locks behind her ear, "Right?" he added looking at the men.

Most of the men nodded.

"You don't understand it, do you?" Regina crossed her arms over her chest, "He wants _me_, he won't stop until he gets _me_," she shook her head, "If you go, he'll be waiting for you, he will torture you and kill you," her voice almost broke a little bit when she spoke those words, "I can't live with that,"

"We will figure out a way, Regina,"

"No, we won't!" Regina yelled, "He has a whole army, and I'm sure all the kings you have angered will send troops if needed, and you, you just have the Merry Men," she didn't mean it as an insult, they all knew that, but she had a point, "You wouldn't stand a chance,"

Tears started rolling down her cheeks, she hadn't cried in a long time, not since her first night with the King. Regina cleaned them off quickly, not wanting to show her weakness. If there was something her mother had taught her was how to be strong. And she _needed_ to be strong, for Robin, for the Men, for the people who counted on the Merry Men and for herself.

"I'm not willing to risk your life, Robin. You mean something to these men, to the countrymen. You are a symbol of resistance, a light of hope," he could see the pride in her eyes as she spoke those words. She spoke with a passion that made her feel alive "And I am nothing," she said with less emotion. "Just the girl who was lucky enough to fill Queen Ava's throne," Regina added with bitterness.

"You are the Queen!"

"Only to my husband," she replied to Robin as if she didn't matter, as if anyone could replace her anytime just as she had replaced Queen Ava. It showed how repressed and lonely her life had been, it showed a side of her that Robin wanted to fix.

"You are the Queen to me," Robin said, lifting her chin so her eyes would meet him, "You are _my_ Queen,"

"And mine!" Little John added. Other Merry Men echoed Little John's words, and then they fell into silence. Regina gave them a shy smile. Her eyes, now wet from happiness and her heart even more decided to take matters into her own hands; she could not fail these men, she would not fail these men.

"We will make a plan, and we will free the boy," Robin commented after a while, "I just need some time, but we'll do it. I promise," he added, cupping her cheeks with both of his hands, "Alright?"

"Alright," she replied in a tone he didn't quite decipher.

"Lets go and get some rest," Robin proposed, "The Lord knows we didn't get much sleep in that tree yesterday," he added.

Some of the Merry Men chuckled at the innuendo, and little by little they left the scene, leaving Robin and Regina alone. Little John and Will Scarlett were the last ones to leave. Little John wished Robin and Regina good night and after giving them one last hug, he turned on his heels and left. Will lingered longer, he looked and Regina, and she looked back at him; both of them trying to have a silent conversation with their glares, after a while he nodded, and Regina hoped he understood her message. Then, without saying anything else, Will felt.

"What was all of that about?" Robin asked, sliding his arm around Regina's shoulders.

"Nothing," she replied too quickly, and he arched an eyebrow, "Can we go somewhere and talk?" the Queen then asked, trying to change topics. Especially because she wanted to tell him something before she put her plans on motion.

He didn't say anything, not even to point out that they had agreed on going to sleep few moments ago, and guided her into the woods. They didn't walk much, but it was enough for the other men to not hear them talk or even know where they were.

"I have to tell you something," Regina broke the silence, "Before it's too late,"

"Why does this feels like goodbye?" he asked, taking a step closer to her.

"It is not, not yet, anyway," the Queen played with her hands, "But I feel like I might not have another change to tell you this,"

Robin nodded, and thought about backing off a little bit to give Regina more space, but when he tried to move Regina's hand grabbed one of his wrist and stopped him from doing so. She didn't know where to start. She breathed in and tried to organise her thoughts "I told you about Daniel, and how he was taken away from my life too soon,"

The Thief nodded, and took her hand on his, knowing how the topic of losing the love of her life hurt her.

"And for a long time, I was in a dark place. I did, and thought about, some things I'm not quite proud of," she paused, wondering if Robin would ask her about that, but he didn't. And she took his silence as an encouragement to keep going, "For a long time, I only felt hate and loneliness," Regina continued, "Until I met you, and you changed me, fix pieces of me that I thought were broken beyond repair,"

Regina paused once more. This time to look into Robin's eyes, to memorize every single detail about them. She let go of the things she should and shouldn't do as a married woman, as a queen - not that she had behaved as a married queen lately - and raised her hand to caress Robin's cheek.

"And, even if you say you'll figure a way for us to be together, and even if I want to be positive about it," with her thumb she stroke his lips "Life had thought me otherwise. Life had taught me I don't get what my heart desires," tears started to build in her eyes again, "So, before I lose the chance of ever speaking my feelings out-loud, I wanted you to know, that I'm in love with you, Robin of Locksley,"

Robin kissed the thumb that was still placed above his lips as soon as he heard Regina's confession. Then, he took both of his hands in his and took a step towards her, their bodies pressed against each other. They were breathing shared air; sharing body warmth; warming their hearts with the emotion that poured from their eyes. Robin shut down all the voices in his mind, this was his moment, _their_ moment, and he would make most of it.

"And I am, completely in love with you, Regina Mills," Robin said, his eyes shifting from her lips towards her eyes and staying her. "I love you more than the amount of stars in the sky, stronger than the midday's sun, and deeper than the sea," he confessed, "I love you so much it scares me, because you own my soul and you hold my heart in your hands,"

Regina pressed her forehead against Robin's and breathed his scent: the smell of the forest. Robin's confessions made her heart beat faster, and her mind forget about all the worries. Once again, it was just Robin and her, and nothing and no one else.

"That's why I beg of you, Regina," Robin continued, almost in a whisper, "Please, don't give up on us, don't give up on our love,"

"I'd never give up on you," she replied honestly, and he didn't seem to catch the change of words on her statement mostly because her lips were so close to his that he couldn't concentrate on anything anymore.

A wave of courage flooded his veins, and he decided to close the distance between his mouth and Regina's.

If the fireworks were part of some sort of celebration or they were all in her head, Regina never knew. And she found out she didn't care either, because the emotions that she was feeling, she had never felt before, not even with Daniel. They were so strong, and they felt so right. Soon, the passion took over, and Regina slip her hands around Robin's neck and she caressed his hair as Robin wrapped her with one of his arms and tried to unbutton her shirt with the other one.

Not once Regina tried to stop him. And not once he considered on stopping on his account.

That night, Regina made love for the first time. That night, she learned the difference between love making and loveless and forced sex. And it made all the guilt she had felt due to her feelings towards Robin go away. It made her feel light and happy, even pure again. It removed all the darkness from her heart, it made her forgive Snow White's wrongs, and it made her gather the courage she needed for what she was going to do next.

But, she wouldn't think about what would happen next at this moment, she told herself as she trailed her hand down Robin's naked chest. She would enjoy this moment. And then, before morning came, then she would think about her plan.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** If this fic would be divided into two acts, this would where the second half starts.

* * *

Regina woke up with the first sun beams warming her face and the smell of the forest filling her body, they had fell asleep on the same spot where they had made love. Robin's strong arms were around her, anchoring her to his body, keeping her warm, protecting her from the world. Still with her eyes closed, Regina concentrated on memorizing every single detail from that wonderful moment, for she was sure it would be a one-time experience.

She memorized the birds' twitter and the sound the wind made as it slipped through the forest. She memorized feeling of the Sun on her face and how it made her feel energized. She memorized the way Robin's body fit with hers, in a way no other body had ever fitted and would never fit. She memorized Robin's warm breath that clashed against her nape and made her feel safe.

It was the dream of any woman, to be held like this, she was sure of it. But this life was not meant to be hers. She was meant to have a life of misery, pain and sadness, and sacrifice; but that was a life she was willing to have if it meant she would save Robin's life. She needed to do this, she couldn't hide anymore. The Queen was ready to return to her castle, to her real life. And then she opened her eyes.

Untangling her body from Robin's was harder than she first thought, luckily she had plenty of experience from the nights that the King had decided to sleep by her side and managed to slip away without waking up the man that had slept with her. She got dressed, quickly and silently, and then walked back towards the Merry Camp, leaving Robin alone in the woods. It pained her to go without saying goodbye to him, but she knew he wouldn't let her go if he knew about her plan.

Peace reigned in the camp, Regina knew that everyone was still sleeping, everyone except one person. In front of an already extinguished bonfire, Will Scarlet was waiting for her. He was drawing on the dirt with a stick, but Regina didn't get to see what his doodles were about because when he noticed her walking towards him he erased his work with one of his foot.

"About time," he said, standing up and cleaning the dirt he had gotten on his pants "I've been waiting for ages,"

"Did you prepare the horses?" Regina asked, not bothering to give an explanation for her lateness.

"I did, I'll go with you until the edge of the forest, I trust you will be able to return to the castle from there?" Will commented, as they walked towards the fences that the Merry Men used as stable.

Regina nodded at his question, "It's less than one day ride, right?"

"Around five hours if you keep a steady gallop," he replied, "Once you are in the Castle, let the horse loose and he'll return to the village, where I'll pick him up,"

She knew the horse he had prepared for her; it was Robin's, the fastest and strongest horse in the Merry Camp. She wished she could keep the horse as a reminder of her happy days at the camp, but that was a luxury she wouldn't be allowed to enjoy. Regina knew that the moment she walked through the Castle's doors, these days wouldn't even be a memory, they would just be a dream. A knot appeared on her stomach and it made her uneasy. But she couldn't back off now.

"I need ink and paper," the Queen told the man as she caressed the horse that would take her to her prison. "He'll never believe you if you tell him this was my choice,"

"I suspected you would ask for something like that," Will handled her a folded paper that he had kept in his jacket's pocket and from his small backpack he took out a small bottle of ink and an almost broken quill "It was the best I could do,"

Regina thanked Will for the ink and paper and wrote a note to Robin. It was not among her most versed writings, it was raw and it carried all her feelings, thoughts and emotions. But she knew Robin wouldn't care, she knew he would be too disturbed by her leave and she hoped it would bring some closure to him. The woman folded the piece of paper as if it would be her heart and handled it to the Merry Man.

For some odd reason, Regina trusted Will; she had confide him with the mission to take her out of the camp, and now she was confiding him the letter that carried all her thoughts and feelings. Will Scarlett took the folded paper with the same care Regina had showed moment ago and placed it inside his jacket.

She climbed the horse with no help, her muscle memory kicking in as soon as she placed one of her foot in the stirrup, and rode away from the camp. Not looking back once though, she was too afraid she would regret her decision, she was too afraid she would see something or someone who would make her want to stay. The Merry Men and their camp had become a family and a home to her.

Regina rode in silence, trying to conceal her feelings, to remember how she was supposed to behave and speak. She felt Will turning to look at her every few meters, she could see the worried look in his face by the corner of her eyes, she could hear him thinking if this was, after all, the best solution to their problem. But the Merry Man never said anything out loud, and Regina thanked him for that. Because she knew the moment he voiced his doubts, she would start thinking about them too.

"Promise me you will stop him if he tries to go after me," she said as they reached the forest's edge.

"I promise I'll try," Will replied, "But I don't know if I'll succeed,"

"See that you do," Regina replied using a regal tone.

All traits of the woman who had lived in the woods among outlaws had disappeared from Regina's surface, they were buried deep inside her heart and mind, next to the girl she used to be when she was loved by Daniel. And without saying anything else she rode off, away from the woods, away from her happiness, away from the love of her life.

If it took her five hours or more, she never knew. As far she was concerned, she hope she'd never reach the Castle. But she did. One tiny man ran inside the Castle as she let Robin's horse ran away to let everyone know that the Queen had returned. The Queen, not Regina. They didn't care about her, they cared about what she represented.

Snow White was the first one to appear through the Castle's doors, she ran down the stairs and into Regina's arms. Her cheeks were wet from crying.

"You are back," the princess said, squishing Regina tightly, "I've miss you so much," she confessed, "Things haven't been good since they took you, father has...," the girl's voice trailed off, and Regina wondered how much had the King changed, "It doesn't matter now, you are back!" Snow cleaned her tears, "And we will be a family again, I know we will,"

"Yes, Snow," Regina replied, hoping her voice wouldn't betray her real feelings, "We will," she added, hugging the girl back.

Regina no longer held a grudge against Snow, Robin had fixed her heart and the darkness that once clouded her mind was now gone. She will never love or be loved again, but she would try to be less unhappy when she was around the Princess, after all, it was not Snow's fault - it had been Regina the one that had chosen to return to the King.

"My Queen," she then heard Leopold's voice, and her blood froze. He had never spoken in a loving tone to her, but at least it was one that showed respect, now that was gone - she could only hear fake-enthusiasm in his voice. "You've come back," he stated, as if it wouldn't be obvious.

The Queen looked at him, but didn't let go of the girl she was holding. Moments ago, Regina had hugged Snow for Snow's benefit; but now, she was holding the girl to keep herself anchored to the safety of a child's love. "Yes, I have," she spoke clearly and coldly, "They let me return, with the idea that you would let the child you have in the dungeons go,"

She felt Snow hugging her tighter and burying her face below Regina's armpit. Regina looked at the girl confused, Snow had never behaved like this, she had never hid, especially not from her father. Her brows furrowed more when she heard Leopold chortling.

"The boy?" he said between laughs, "You want me to free the boy?"

"Yes," Regina replied dryly, "That is what I said,"

Her blunt reply earned her a slap from Leopold, he didn't seem to mind that he had hit his wife in front of everyone that had come to welcome her. "I hope you didn't forget your place while you were living among peasants, woman,"

One of Regina's hands covered the cheek where Leopold had just stroke her, but her other hand clenched Snow White, as if she would be protecting the princess from her father. The irony was not neglected by Regina: she was protecting the same girl she had wanted dead for a long time.

"Yes, Your Majesty" Regina said in almost an inaudible tone. She hated that he had already broke her, she hated that she was already the same weak girl she had been before she met Robin. But she couldn't let her sacrifice go to waste, if she wanted to save David, she needed to act as Leopold wanted her to act. "I apologize for my behavior, and I implore you to show mercy on the boy,"

"I will not do such thing," the King's reply came fast and lacked any emotion, "The people need to learn the consequences of helping the outlaws."

"Father, please," Snow spoke for the first time in a pleading tone, "Please, let David go, his family must miss him,"

"I said no," Leopold said, and Regina noticed that the lack of affection was not only towards her, but towards the princess too. The King had changed, and not in a good way. "I am the King, and you know better than to second-guess my orders, Snow White," he scolded his daughter, but at least she wasn't physically reprimanded.

"Yes, father," the princess replied, looking at the floor and not letting Regina go. "Forgive my bluntness,"

"It seems I'm in a very forgiving mood," the King stated, and Regina used all her will power not to roll her eyes, she knew in how much trouble would that manner get her, "I take offence by none of your attitudes, but I hope you will remember to behave from now on," Snow nodded and Regina decided to stay quiet, afraid that any movement would give away her hate towards the King "Now, Snow, go and help Regina out of those rags and in some decent clothes for when we dine together,"

"Yes, father," the girl repeated and without letting go of Regina, she walked into the castle.

Snow didn't speak as they walked through the castle's hallways, but her silence spoke volumes to Regina. The princess had never been a quiet girl, so her new actions told Regina something had changed since she was taken by the Merry Men. Maybe her kidnapping had shown the King's true colours, colours that no one had ever seen before, specially not his beloved daughter. But a man with a hurt pride could do unspeakable things, specially when he was used to get everything he desired.

"Snow, what is wrong?" Regina asked when they were safe between her room's walls. She hadn't missed it, and green wallpaper just made her feel more nostalgic.

"Father has changed," the princess replied almost in a whisper, "I thought it had to do with your kidnapping, but now I'm not so sure anymore,"

Regina furrowed her eyebrows, "Why do you say that?"

"I've seen when messengers bring bad news, he never holds a grudge against them," Snow said, "He never hurt anyone before,"

"That's debatable," Regina let out before she could think what she was saying, so she tried to fix it with a "He's the King, he sure punished some people,"

"But old people!" the girl said in a cry, as if it would make a difference that Leopold until hurt adults, "David is my age,"

"And how would you know that?"

Snow blushed at the question and looked away, "I have been visiting him," she confessed studying her hands, "I know a secret way to the dungeons,"

"Then, why don't you free him?"

"Because father knows where he lives, and he's afraid father will go after his mother,"

"I see,"

"Please, don't tell father I've been visiting David," Snow said, taking Regina's hands into hers, and looking into Regina's eyes.

It took Regina by surprise, what she saw in Snow's eyes. They shone in a very particular way, Snow White was in love, with a shepherd. Leopold would not like that, the Princess was meant to marry someone of equal or higher above rank, which meant that she could only marry a prince - why did that story sound so familiar? She looked at Snow White on a new light now, the Princess would too, have to marry someone she didn't love.

"Don't you worry, child," Regina said, using a motherly tone with Snow for the first time since she became the girl's step-mother, and brushing one of girl's locks away from her face. "I will find a way to convince your father," the Queen added.

"You promise?"

'_Yes_,' Regina thought with a decided mind. After dinner she would go to the King's room, and she would let him have his way, she would even pretend to enjoy it. And then she would sweet-talk him into letting David go.

"I promise," Regina nodded, and that was a promise she would keep. The Queen wasn't sure she would succeed in her task, but at least she would try. Not because she had promised it to the girl she had recently stopped hating, but because she owed it to David and to Robin.


	12. Chapter 12

When Robin woke up he immediately felt that something was wrong. Not only because Regina was nowhere to be seen, but because he had a pressure around his heart. He felt like something bad had, or was going to, happen; call it premonition or sixth sense. He needed to find Regina, he needed to be reassured that she was alright.

The Prince of Thieves looked everywhere, practically wrecking the Merry Camp as he did. He looked in every corner and hideaway, but he did not even find a slight evidence that Regina had ever lived in the camp for the past days. It was as if she had disappeared into thin air, all her things with her. Even the flower crown that Robin had once made for her was missing.

As time passed, he felt his heart getting heavier and his hopes leave him; but his mind would not accept that Regina was gone, that she had left the camp - she had left _him_.

Around noon Robin saw Will Scarlet walking into the camp, pulling two horses by their reins. One if the horses was his own horse, Robin noted. What was Will doing with his horse? And suddenly it all made sense: Regina and Will's silent conversation last night, Regina's confession, Regina's disappearance and Will bringing two horses into the camp.

It was then, that Robin lost it. He launched himself towards Will, who hadn't been expecting the attack and lost his equilibrium. Both men fell to the ground and Robin rolled over Will. The leader grabbed the other man's shirt neck and shook him aggressively, while he yelled "Where is Regina? Where is she?" repeatedly.

Will didn't defend himself, he was not even trying to push Robin off or run away, it was almost as if he thought that he was getting what he deserved - maybe he did. Robin's shouts alerted all the other Merry Men, who gathered around the two men fighting, but no one tried to break the fight. Not until blood was drawn: Robin had broken Will's lip.

Holding Robin away from the other thief, the Merry Men decided to ask Will the same question Robin had been yelling for over ten minutes now. "Where is Regina, Will?" Little John asked, in a calmer tone than Robin, placing a hand over Will's shoulder.

Will shook Little John's hand away and cleaned his mouth with one of his hands as looked at his fellows, they were all waiting for his answer. He breathed in and he said those words that Robin had feared to hear from the moment he woke up, "At King's Leopold's castle," the merry men started whispering among them at Will's confession. They definitely didn't expect this and they were taken back by the statement.

But not Robin, those words had only made him see red. He shook off the men they were holding him back and launched against Will.

"Why?!" he yelled holding Will by his shirt's neck, and bringing him closer "Why did you do it? Was it because of the money?" the prince of thieves asked, "Was our paycheck not enough?"

"No!" Will screamed, louder than Robin, "I did not take her to claim the money! I did it because she asked me to!"

"I don't believe you!" Robin snapped, "You are lying! What have you done to her?"

"I am not lying!" the Merry Man defended himself, "She asked me to take her so she could save your life,"

Robin let Will go, pushing him backwards, "I don't believe you," he repeated.

Will tripped against a rock and fell to the ground. "She said you wouldn't," he said as he stood up and cleaned his clothes "That's why she wrote this for you," the bleeding thief added, taking a sealed letter out from his jacket.

Without thinking it twice, Robin snatched the letter and opened it quickly. He had never seen Regina's handwrite, but he was sure it was hers. It suited the Queen; it was elegant and glamorous without being ostentatious. Robin caressed the handwrite with his fingertips, trying to feel Regina's emotions, but he did not - after all, it was just a paper.

He proceeded to read what Regina had written.

_My dear Robin,_

_My mother once told me that love is weakness, but now I know that she could not be more wrong. Because I love you; without knowing how or when it started, without knowing how could I love so deeply someone who I have not know for a long time, but I am certain that I will love you until I draw my last breath. And it is our love that gives me strength and the courage to do what I did._

_It aches me to know we'll never meet again, that I'll never feel the security your arms provide or the peace your eyes give. You are everything to me - I seem to breathe you, hear you, and feel you in every inch of my body; but I can not imagine a world without you. And that is why I need to return to the King, because I know he will not let you walk out of the castle, and I can not bare the thought of him killing you - he has already taken too much from me, I can not let him take you away, too!_

_You have the sweetest and most loving soul I have ever known. You give so much and you never ask for anything in return. You have the heart of a true hero and it must be protected from those who want to abuse the people. That is the reason why I'm returning to the Castle. I know you will not understand at first, but you have to believe me when I say it is the only way Leopold will forgive your trespasses._

_I love you, Robin, because I know no other way._

_Yours forever,_

_Regina._

At the end of the paper, Regina had written a last sentence for him. A proof that she knew him better than anyone, and at the same time didn't know him at all. It said: 'Robin, I beg of you: do not come to my rescue, do not come to challenge the King, do not come to be a hero. This is goodbye, and I have made peace with my destiny. It is time you make peace with yours too.'

He _wouldn't_. He wouldn't accept his destiny, Robin of Locksley fought for his destiny. And Regina was his destiny.

Robin stood on a wood log "Men," he shouted in a leader's voice tone.

The merry men, who after the fight had returned to their daily chores or archery practice, stopped doing what they were doing and turned their attention to Robin.

"What I am about to ask you, I won't ask you as Robin Hood, the prince of Thieves, but as Robin of Locksley, a man who found the biggest treasure that there is to find in this life only to lose it: love," Robin's tone changed to a softer one "Yes, I stole her from another man, and now I'm selfish enough to want her back," he said "I understand if you don't want to join me in this adventure, but I beg of you: do not judge me," he shifted his body weight on his legs before continuing, "You see, Regina is not just a woman to me, she has become the air I breath, and right now I feel like I'm drowning..."

No one in the camp spoke to cheer their leader, nor to complain about his attitude and wishes either. They remained quiet, waiting for orders to follow, or to disobey.

"I know I am probably walking into a death trap," Robin stated, "I know there are high probabilities that I won't make it out alive. But what is the point of living alone now that I have tasted true love?" he asked his men, and some nodded to his question, "I rather die in love than live alone!" at this point some men cheered, "Men, I'm leaving at sunset, those of you who are foolish enough to follow me are welcome to join this quest," he stated before stepping of the log.

"I'll come with you," Little John said as soon as Robin stopped talking, he stepped out of the crowd and walked towards his leader and best friend. Robin smiled at him and put a hand on Little John's shoulder, he knew his best friend would follow him, even if they went into to Hell to kill the Devil himself.

"Ah, bloody hell! We will all die one way or the other," Will Scarlet commented and took a place next to Little John, gently slapping Robin's back. When he saw Robin arching an eyebrow, he shrugged and said "Someone has to protect you back, mate. And I don't think Little John here is fast enough,"

Robin smiled, even if Will had insulted his best friend, and looked at the rest of the merry men. Some had decided to take their place next to Will and John, some had explained that they had a family and did not wish to set out in a suicide mission - Robin understood them. The only merry man who had a wife and had decided to join him had been Will Scarlet, and Robin appreciated his loyalty.

"Ana is going to kill you, and then me, and then you again," Robin said as he and the man who had agreed to accompany him to the castle walked towards his tent to start with the preparations for their trip.

"Not if the King does first," Will sassed out with a half-smile.

"I don't understand you," Little John commented "You helped Regina get to the castle, and now you are helping to take her back?" his question didn't sound accusatory, the merry man sounded genuinely confused.

"I help those who wish to protect their loved ones," Will shrugged nonchalantly, "She did it to protect Robin, and now Robin is doing it to protect her,"

"I never pictured you as a romantic person, Scarlet," Robin elbowed Will and they both chuckled.

"What can I say? You bring the best out of me, Hood," Will replied, "Now, let's start planning this suicide mission of yours. Unlike you, some of us don't want to meet death sooner than we are destined to,"

"What's the plan? Take Regina and leave?" a Merry Man named Arthur asked.

Robin nodded "And free David, the kid that Leopold imprisoned for carrying my message,"

"Let me see if I've got this clear," Will held one of his hands up "You want us to break into the castle, not only to steal the Queen, but also to take a prisoner, who is a guest of honor in the King's dungeons"

"Yes,"

"We_ really_ need to start thinking on a plan, mate,"


	13. Chapter 13

It had been one week since she left Robin Hood. One week since she gave up on her happy ending. It had been one week since she returned to the castle in order to protect her one true love. Their fate was to go on with life like star-crossed lovers; theirs was a beautiful story that no one will hear or read about, no one will ever pity Regina, how she had pitied Juliet when Tinkerbell told her that story.

It had been one week since she returned to the Castle, to be Snow White's stepmother and Leopold's wife. It had been one week since things went back to the way they were supposed to be. By day, she'd be with Snow, whose company was surprisingly more tolerable now, and by night she'd be Leopold's sex toy - he'd have his way with her and then sent her back to her room.

It was all the same. But at the same time, it wasn't. Because while Leopold savaged her body, Regina remembered how Robin had treasured it; and somehow it made the pain more bearable. And when the King was done, Regina didn't return to an empty room, she returned to Tinkerbell's arms, which held her as she cried and said "I've got to be strong," between sobs.

It had been one week since Leopold had laughed at Regina's request of freeing young, poor David. One week since Tinkerbell had decided to stay at her bedchamber and sleep by her side, nodding every time Regina said "It was the only thing I could do," over and over, even if the Fairy didn't agree with the statement. The Fairy never said anything, because there was no need on rubbing salt into the Queen's wounds.

But Regina kept on waking every day, and repeating the past days' actions. It was a nightmare in repeat that she kept surviving. And then, she'd go to bed and every night she would dream about Robin, and that gave her strength to continue fighting for what was right.

Another week passed, and Regina felt hope leaving her body. She had saved Robin Hood from his execution, but David was still imprisoned and Regina started to believe that his freedom was nothing but a stupid dream, a goal she'd never achieve. Realisation hit her hard at the end of the third week: she was not going to convince the King to free David. It made her want to scream from the top of the Castle's tallest tower.

She had failed everyone, she realised one night as she let her knees hit the floor. Tears ran down her cheeks, she had failed Robin. That night she didn't dream of her merry men, that night she didn't dream at all. She closed her eyes and saw black, and for the first time since she came back, she felt alone. It was as if her mind and soul had also given up on life.

"I couldn't convince your father, Princess," Regina told her stepdaughter, one day on their daily stroll, "Not even my best behaviour seem to be enough for the King," she added, in a disappointed tone.

Snow White shrugged, as if she didn't care - but they both knew that was a lie, "It's alright, Regina, you did your best," the girl replied almost in a whisper, "I wish my father would love me enough to get over his hate towards the Thief and let David go,"

Regina breathed in deeply to stop herself from lashing at Snow White for insulting Robin. She hadn't told the girl about her feelings towards the man, mostly because she didn't trust the Princess - that was a mistake she'd never make again.

"Your father loves you, Snow," Regina stated, "He just has a bad way of showing it,"

"A bad way would be better than what is he doing right now," Snow commented, "He was supposed to be a fair King!"

Regina shushed the girl with a sharp swishing, Snow White had screamed that last sentence and the King's guards were not far behind. If the King heard the Princess talking like that, he'd enrage and Regina would be the one paying for Snow's actions. It was already bad enough that the Queen was his sex toy, she didn't want to add punching ball into her list of Wifely Chores.

Apparently, Regina's tone had been too harsh, because the next thing the Queen knew what that Snow had sat on a bench and was crying. She breathed in and out twice before asking the guards to give them some space. The King's men nodded and walked four steps backwards, giving the Princess and the Queen some privacy. It was the first time Regina was outside and didn't have a knight breathing on her back and for a second, Regina let herself remember the luxury of solitude which she had enjoyed while she lived with the merry men, what would she give to go back to those happy days.

A snob brought her back to reality. This was her life now, she had chosen to come back to save Robin. She had to accept the consequences of her acts.

The Queen sat next to her stepdaughter and awkwardly pat the girl's knee "There, there," she said, trying to comfort Snow White. But it didn't come out naturally, her mother had never comfort her, so she didn't know what she was supposed to do, "Stop crying or you'll have bags under your eyes and your father will ask what is bothering you," the Queen had meant for the words to sound consoling, but they came as a scold.

And it made Snow White cry harder, and Regina's heart shrink, even if she didn't really care about the girl. She didn't hate Snow White anymore, but she didn't love her either.

"Come on, Snow," Regina said after a moment of silence, sliding her arm around the girl's shoulder and bringing the girl close to her, "Stop crying, you have to be strong for those you love,"

"I - can't," the Princess said between sobs and held on tightly to Regina's waist, "I'm just a stupid and naïve princess,"

Regina had to bit her tongue to stop herself from agreeing with Snow. "No, you are not," she said instead, "Well, naïve maybe, but not stupid,"

"You think so?" Snow asked, raising her face from Regina's lap. Her eyes shinned, and even behind the tears Regina could see excitement. As if it was enough for the Princess to be praised by her stepmother.

"I _know_ so," Regina replied with a lopsided smile that only grew wider when she saw Snow White smile. Maybe it was not so bad to comfort someone every once in a while.

Snow White opened her mouth to say something; but before Regina could hear whatever Snow had to tell her, the castle's bells interrupted the moment they were sharing. The Princess untangled herself from her stepmother and looked at the tower where the bells were ringing before turning to face Regina.

"What do you think they are ringing the bells for?" she asked confused, cleaning the tears from her eyes.

Regina pursed her lips into a thin line and raised her eyebrows "I don't know, dear,"

"Do you think it's good news?"

'_Unless they are ringing them to announce the King's death,_' Regina thought, "I don't think so, Snow,"

The Princess also furrowed her eyebrows and looked at the tower again. She had only heard the bells rang three times in her life: when her mother died, when her father remarried and when Regina returned. What would be so good - or bad - that the King had ordered for the bells to be rang?

They didn't wonder much longer about the reason behind the bells ringing. Tinkerbell appeared out of one of the Royal Guarden's bushes, she flew as fast as she could towards stepmother and stepdaughter, and when she reached Regina she turned grew into a person's size, not carrying about Snow White learning about her. The Fairy looked as if she had seen someone dying, she was pale and her wings had stopped shinning.

"They caught him," Tinkerbell said in a whisper because her vocal cords had stopped working, "The King's Men caught Robin Hood,"

_The King's Men caught Robin Hood._

And just like that, Regina's world crumbled into pieces.


	14. Chapter 14

**AwesomeGizmo**, Hope your ankle is better! This update came a bit later than promised, but I hope you'll enjoy it!

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To say that King Leopold was ecstatic when he heard the news would underrate his emotional state. Euphoria wouldn't even start defining it either. He wanted to scream of happiness, and jump throughout the castle, and gift beer to everyone in his kingdom. He hadn't been this excited when his daughter was born, not even when he married the love of his life - he had been happy on those occasions, that is true; but nothing could ever compare to having Robin Hood as his prisoner.

_Robin Hood_. The man who had the nerve to steal from him: not only money, but also his wife. The man who had dared to give hope to the peasants. The man who opposed the biggest threat to his kingdom. Robin Hood as a person, remained a mystery to the King, a mystery he didn't want to unravel. Leopold didn't care about Robin's past or what had made him become the thief that he was today. No, the King only cared about showing to the people what happened when someone challenged the Monarch in charge: they were tortured and then, annihilated.

The King pushed the Throne Hall's doors open, not waiting for the guards to open them for him as the protocol stated. Inside the Hall there were four men dressed in the King's men armour, two of them Leopold had never seen - but the King noticed that they bore yellow bands around their right arms, which meant they had just finished their training and became knights. And the other two soldiers, named Watson and Trevor, were two of Leopold's most trusted soldiers and the men in charge of Robin's capture.

"Your Majesty," Watson said and he and the three soldiers kneeled in front of their King. Robin, however, stayed in a standing position.

Leopold looked at him, no emotions showing in his face, "Kneel before your King, _thief_," he said.

It had been the same name that Regina had used to called him during their first days together, but not even when they first met the Queen had managed to say the word with so much hate and vernon. "I'll be damned before I kneel in front of you, Leopold," Robin stated, holding his ground.

Blood went to the King's face, his pale face turned red and his stoic emotions were replaced by raging ones. But before Leopold could say something, Trevor hit the prisoner and yelled "You will address to the King with respect, thief,"

Leopold watched the scene with a glimmer of happiness in his eyes. He had always enjoyed when his men took control over a situation regarding a rebel, it made him realize that he didn't have to control everything all the time.

"The King!" Robin laughed like a maniac, "The _King_ has done nothing to earn my respect, and I will not treat him with such," the Thief added with a deadpan voice tone. He knew he had to be extra careful and not to show his feelings towards Regina. That would only decrease their chances of getting out of the Castle alive, and right now, their chances were already too slim.

"I said," Trevor emphasized each word, "Kneel before your King," he then slashed Robin's lower shin, cutting the tendon. Robin did not scream in pain, he simply fell to the ground without making any sound.

"He's not my King," Robin, stubborn as ever, stood up and put all his weight into his healthy leg. But this effort was for nothing, because the soldier cut right above his other ankle and Robin fell on both of his knees, in front of the man wearing the crown and a shit-eating grin.

"That's more like it," Leopold fought to suppress a giggle.

Robin stayed in silence. His hands were tied behind his back and his shins were slashed, his blood smeared over the floor. But even in that state, the thief held his face up, he will not lose his honor. Not in front of this king. Around them a small crowd constituted from people who worked at the castle had mustered to watch the downfall of the legendary Robin Hood.

"The thief was caught by two of our freshmen," Watson explained, "Robinson and Hoodwin said they stumbled upon Robin while they were on their forest patrol and brought him directly to Your presence, your Majesty,"

"Impressive," Leopold said loudly, "That two freshmen could achieve something that none of my loyal guards could do!"

_Impressive_, indeed, Robin thought as he looked the two men that had brought him into the Castle, who were really no soldiers but Will Scarlett and Arthur Treimane dressed in the armours that they had stolen from two knights. Two knights who were roaming, in fact doing their forest patrol, and were now tied to a tree at the Merry Camp. _Robinson_ and _Hoodwin_, it seemed like Will and Arthur had really no imagination when it came to inventing names for their covers.

Hadn't the King been so blind by his hate towards Robin, he would have noticed that something about the two men was not alright. He would had seen through this charade. Specially after Will winked at Robin, and elbowed Arthur. Robin shook his head, he couldn't believe that everyone had bought their story. He had been so sure they were doomed to failing when Will Scarlet came up with his; alas, in the absence of a better plan, they had agreed on going along with Will's crazy idea.

"I shall throw a ball on your honor, men," the King continued his speech, talking to anyone but to the two men who had brought Robin in. "And now," Leopold said, looking at Robin, "What should I do with you?"

The King looked at the Thief and Robin held his gaze. None of them wanting to look away - it was a matter of pride. Leopold wanted to break Robin, to show the peasants that their hero was made of bone and flesh, and that he was not match to a king. But what the King didn't know, was that this was not the first time that a monarch had tried to break in the Prince of Thieves. It wasn't the first time that Robin had wounded a king's pride due to his impeccable morals. And that Robin's mind was set on the finish line, just like last time: _he would survive_.

It was the King who broke the eye contact first, not to grand Robin with the victory from their staring contest, but to yell the crowd of knights and servants who had gathered around them his verdict and Robin's fate.

"By the power invested in my by the higher Gods, I condemn you, Robin Hood to be hung, drawn and quartered,"

The servants gasped in horror at the sentence, no one ever received that death, not even the most notable traitors. They might be uneducated, but they were sure about one thing: there was nothing fair about Robin Hood's trial and his death would only flare up their yearning for freedom and a change.

"Robinson, Hoodwin: take him to the dungeons," Leopold ordered to Will and Arthur, who nodded and grabbed Robin, each hooking one hand under Robin's armpits. "You'll keep watch on him until tomorrow,"

After nodding once again, Will and Arthur pulled Robin out from the Throne Hall room, his slashed ankles leaving a trail of blood as he was dragged away. And just as he thought his torture was over, Robin raised his face and his eyes met with Regina's. His heart stopped, as if it had forgotten how to beat. The Queen looked defeated and downhearted, she was just a ghost of the woman with whom Robin had spent that last night they had together.

Regina looked just as she had looked when they had met for the first time, when he had kidnapped: she looked like a walking corpse. Alive but not living.

Robin tried to stand on his feet to ease her pain, to show her that the situation was not that bad as she thought. But he couldn't, not because Will and Arthur were dragging him rashly, but because he couldn't control his feet: the cut had been too deep. The Thief looked at the Queen and tried to mend the pain she was suffering from with a silent message, with an invisible kiss; but Regina's sight dropped to the floor and she fled the scene, followed closely behind by a little girl, who Robin presumed, was Snow White.

He should have felt optimistic, he knew this was all part of the plan. But, as he was dragged into the dungeons, he couldn't help but to feel hopeless.

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**NOTES**

the death penalty '_Hanged, drawn and quartered_' was a real penalty in which and I quote Wikipedia: "Convicts were fastened to a hurdle, or wooden panel, and drawn by horse to the place of execution, where they were hanged (almost to the point of death), emasculated, disembowelled, beheaded and quartered (chopped into four pieces)"... Leave it to Middle Age Europe to be that repulsive...


	15. Chapter 15

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! _(and probably Valentine's day, too because I suck and my university does too)_

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Regina walked fast towards her chambers, her personal guard and Snow White trying to keep up with her accelerated pace. As usual, something that made Regina happy was going to be ripped out of her life with no second thoughts - and it made her sick. Robin had been sentenced to the worst kinds of deaths.

It was too much, it was too soon.

The Queen barely made it to her room before she emptied her stomach's contents in the ceramic washbasin she usually used to clean her face. Regina fell to the ground then, between the emotional distress, the anxiety and the vomiting her body had no energy to pick herself up and pretend to be the regal queen she was supposed to be.

She couldn't do it anymore. She couldn't do it again. Losing Daniel had been hard enough, she had lost herself after that. But she didn't know what losing Robin would do to her, and she didn't want to imagine it either.

_Air_. She needed air. She needed to take her corset off. She needed to breath. And cry.

The sounds of Regina vomiting had made Snow White flinch at first. But even as the acidic smell filled the room, the princess didn't leave her side and for that Regina was grateful, she really needed someone by her side. She didn't admit it out-loud, not to the girl who wanted Regina to be her mother so badly.

"Are you alright?" Snow asked, soothing her stepmother's back "Do you need me to call a maid? Or to bring you water?"

"No, don't call anyone," Regina shook her head, and tried to clear her throat "Pass me the jar of water, please," she added, the taste of vomit was still present in her mouth and throat and she wanted to get rid of it.

"Why did you vomit?" Snow asked, bringing the jar of water and a glass to Regina.

"I don't know," the Queen lied.

Truth was, the Princess didn't know why the sentence had upset Regina so much. And the Queen preferred if it would stay that way - she didn't hate or blame Snow White anymore and her mind was preoccupied with other feelings at the moment, but she didn't trust the girl either.

Show White opened her mouth, but whatever she was about to say was replaced with a "Your fairy godmother is here,"

Regina furrowed her eyebrows at the statement, she didn't have a godmother. But, when she raised her face from the floor she saw pixie-sized Tinkerbell standing on one of her bedposts. Of course Snow White would believe the fairy was Regina's godmother, every girl born into the High Society had a fairy godmother - every girl, except Regina. Somehow, the Queen was sure it had to do with the fact that Cora had magic and didn't exactly use it to do good.

"Snow, I think it is better if you go to your room," the Queen suggested, knowing that the conversation she was about to have with the Fairy should not be heard by the princess. "I'll go get you once I talked to Tinkerbell,"

If there was someone who could shine a light on her dark present and even darker future was the blonde fairy. And the fact that Tinkerbell had come to visit her gave her hope that maybe, the Fairy had a magical solution for this nightmare.

"Are you sure?" Snow asked, "You were sick few moments ago,"

"I'll take care of her, Princess," Tinkerbell said in her high-pitch voice.

Snow nodded, "Please say hi to my fairy godmother if you see her, her name is Blue,"

"I'll try to remember," the Fairy said in a faked sweet voice that didn't go unnoticed by Regina, however the little girl didn't seem to catch the change in mood in the fairy.

"Very well," Snow walked towards the door, "I'll see you later, Regina,"

And with that, she was gone.

"Of course, Blue is her godmother,"

"I take it you don't like this Blue Fairy," Regina pointed out as she stood up from the floor, her legs shaking from her body's weakened state.

"Not particularly. She's in the business of ruining everyone's happiness for the greater good. But I didn't come here to complain about my self-proclaimed boss," Tink replied and grew into the human-sized. She didn't mind being short, but Regina seemed to feel more comfortable when they had the same size, "Wash Robin's wounds with this potion, it will heal him immediately,"

Regina took the bottle containing a shining fuchsia potion that Tinkerbell had offered her, "I - thank you," Regina replied, staring at the bottle. No one had ever done anything for her without asking something in return. No one, except Daniel and Robin, and both had paid for that.

"It's nothing," Tinkerbell shrugged, "I would give you something for your stomach, but the only thing I can do to calm your anxiety is to brew you some tea. Would you like some?"

Regina shook her head "I'm fine, I think it was just the shock from the news," the Queen answered honestly.

"So, what's next?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you need to take him out of the castle, right?" Regina nodded at Tinkerbell's question, "So, what's the plan,"

"I don't have one," she muttered and sat on the edge of the king-sized bed.

"That's alright," the Fairy patted Regina's back in a supportive manner, "Let's do this: you go cure him and I'll think of something,"

"Why are you doing this?" Regina asked, "Why are you helping me?"

"Because this is your chance to get a happy ending, Regina," Tinkerbell answered, "And I'll see it through or die trying,"

Regina nodded, "So, Snow was right after all. You _are_ my fairy godmother,"

"I'd rather be a friend," Tinkerbell commented, trying to hide the fact that she had been touched by Regina's words. A person couldn't choose a godmother, the relationship between a princess and a fairy was predestined even before the princess was born. But, Regina wanted _her_ to be her godmother. Regina had chosen _her_, even if they were both aware that was not how it worked.

No one had ever put so much trust in Tinkerbell before.

"Friends, then," Regina agreed. "I'll ask Snow to take me to Robin, she has been visiting David for a while now,"

It was not an ideal option. But these were desperate times and she was willing to take desperate measures.

"I know," Tinkerbell rolled her eyes, "Blue won't shut up about it,"

Despite the dark times they were living, Regina couldn't help but to chuckle at Tinkerbell's comment. The Queen and the Fairy then said their goodbyes and went on separate ways: Tinkerbell out the window and back to the forest, and Regina out the door and towards Snow White's room.

The commotion that Robin's trial had created on the castle had already extinguished; and silence reigned once more in the hallways through which Regina walked, only accompanied by her personal guard. The corridors were poorly illuminated too, which meant that the King had already retired to his chambers and as expected, everyone else but the guards doing the night swift, had to go to their rooms as well.

When the Queen reached the Princess's room, she told her guard that she would most probably spend some time with the Princess and that he was to wait outside with the other guards until she was ready to go back to her own quarters. After the man nodded at her, Regina entered into Snow White's room without being properly announced - not that she needed to be announced to enter to her step-daughter's room.

Regina waited patiently until the guards closed the room's door before she opened her mouth to talk to the Princess, "Snow, I need you to take me to the dungeons,"

"What for?" the girl asked, not judging but curious about it.

"I want to cure Robin Hood," Regina replied, being honest with Snow for the first time that night.

"Why would you want to cure the Outlaw?"

"Because," the Queen breathed deeply, stopping what she was about to confess to her stepdaughter and decided to go with a less detailed truth, "Because he's a good man, Snow. He might have kidnapped me, but he treated me with respect while I was his prisoner, which is more than what he's receiving from the King,"

Snow White studied Regina, her furrowed eyebrows told the Queen that her stepdaughter was confused about showing mercy to someone her father hated so much and who had obviously taken Regina way from her family. Because to Snow, she and her father were Regina's only family.

"And, you can pay a visit to your friend David," Regina added after she started losing hope on meeting up with Robin that night.

That seemed to be enough to convince Snow White, because the Princess immediately stood up, a big smile plastered on her face, and offered Regina a hand.

The way they took to the dungeons surprised Regina. Snow didn't use the door as it was expected from any royal; instead, she resorted to the secret passage used by the maids that lead to the kitchens. The Princess took each turn with confidence, as if it was not the first time she used the help's tunnels to get somewhere, and Regina was impressed that the girl was so resourceful. Had the Queen thought about it before, her imprisonment would have been easier to handle.

"How do you know where to go, dear?" Regina asked when her curiosity got the best of her.

"When Mother grounded me, she used sent me to my room. Eventually, it became tedious, so I found a way to sneak out," Snow White shrugged.

"No one never found out?"

"Oh, I'm sure my mother knew, but she pretended she didn't..." the Princess smiled sadly, "I miss her sometimes,"

Regina stayed in silence, it was the first time Snow White had shared something with her. It was the first time she had seen Snow White mourning over her mother. And she didn't know how to deal with the emotional girl.

"We are here," Snow announced, ending the emotional but scarce boding time they had just shared, and pushed a small door open, "Now, we need to cross left and we'll be in front of the dungeon's gate. There are always two guards by the doors," she stated.

"Leave those two guards to me," the Queen replied and followed Snow whilst she exited the passages through the door.

As stepmother and stepdaughter took their last turn, Regina thought about a speech, convincing enough for the guards to let the Queen and the Princess into the King's biggest enemy's prison without an escort. The likelihood of that happening was nearly impossible, she wasn't even sure they'd let her into the prison, but she needed to at least try - she owed that to the two men behind the bars.

"Guards," she greeted them with a regal voice tone.

The two men raised their heads to see who had called them, and when they saw Regina they smirked. And a smile appeared too on Regina's face when she realised that they guards were not Leopold's men: they were Merry Men. This was going to be easier than expected. However, they all had to keep playing their parts or Snow White would learn their plan. And Snow White and secret plans didn't mix - at all.

"The King allowed us to visit the prisoners," Regina said.

"We were not notified about any visit, your Majesty," Will replied, impersonating the emotionless voice tone that the King's men had to perfection.

To their surprise, Regina didn't have to defend herself, for it was Snow the one who opened her mouth next "Are you implying that your Queen is lying?" she asked, using the over-dramatised tone that annoyed Regina to no end.

"No, your highness, I did not intend to imply such thing," Will rushed, pretending he was afraid of the Princess's statement, "Forgive my behaviour," he added and nodded to Arthur, who opened the door. "I'll take you to the Outlaw's cell, your Majesty,"

Robin Hood and the Shepherd boy were imprisoned in opposing cells, with a narrow passage between their jail-rooms. The place was poorly illuminated by two torches, that not only made it impossible for Regina to see Robin, but also created an eerie environment that made the hairs of her nape to stand on their end. Just to think that David had been living in the dungeons for almost a month made her heart heavy with guilt.

"I'll make sure no one disturbs you," Will said, snapping Regina out of her thoughts.

Regina entered to Robin's cell expecting the worst scenario she could imagine. And the reality was worse than her expectations. If Regina's heart had been heavy by thinking about David, it started weighing a ton after she saw Robin laying on the ground, curled in a way that made the man look like a small ball, as if he was almost an insignificant being, waiting for someone to put him out of misery.

"Robin," Regina let out and swallowed a sob as her body dropped next to her lover's, "Oh, Robin."

"'Gina...?" Robin opened his eyes slowly. For a short moment, the Thief thought he was delusional and that Regina was nothing but the Angel of Death who had come to take him away.

She shushed him; afraid that someone might hear the way he addressed to her - not someone: _Snow_ \- she was afraid_ Snow_ would find out the nature of their relation. She glared at the Princess over her shoulder and to her relief noticed that Snow was amicably speaking with David, both had a bright smile on their faces and the rest world was unappealing to them. Despite the situation, Regina let herself enjoy for a little time the sight of the girl she had saved and told about true love finding her soul mate.

"I told you not to come and rescue me," Regina whispered, turning her attention back to Robin "I told you this would happen, and now I have to see you getting tortured and then killed," she added, tears falling down her cheeks.

"No, don't say that," Robin said, cleaning her tears away with one of his hands, "We have a plan, we'll get us all out,"

"I don't know if you failed to notice, but you are currently in prison and unable to walk," Regina snapped, and her tone was almost as the one she used when they were both in the Forest and she was complaining about something.

"I had to rescue you, Regina," he pushed his back from the ground and laid against the wall so he could see Regina eye-to-eye. "I had to rescue you or die trying," Robin replied.

Regina was torn between kissing him or smacking him. But deep inside, she was not surprised. Did she really think that Robin wouldn't fight for her? She knew him, she knew he would come to save her.

"I don't know if I envy you bravely or condemn your idiocy," the Queen murmured shaking her head, but they both smiled.

They gazes locked for a while, only to be broken by Robin's eyes wondering lower: to Regina's lips. She was tempted to give in - to kiss him senseless, because he had come to rescue _her._ He had chosen _her_ above everything and everyone. It felt so nice to be someone's first option for a change. And she wanted to show him how much it meant for her. But it was not the place nor the time, so the cleared her throat to get Robin's attention.

"Tinkerbell, a friend fairy of mine, brought me this," she said producing the fuchsia-liquid container from one of her cape's pockets. "She said it would cure you," Regina added and opened the bottle, "May I?"

Robin shrugged, "It's not like you can do more harm," came out as a weak joke and it earned him a death glare shoot at him by Regina.

"Are you done with your antics?" she asked and Robin nodded "Wonderful. Now, turn on your side and stay still," the Queen added, as if she would be a doctor talking to a kid who just scratched their knees and the wounds needed inspection. Robin followed her orders without questioning them, not even once.

Regina warmed her hands before she touched Robin's skin, but he flinched at the coolness of Regina's skin against his skin nevertheless. Not only because of the temperature, but also because of the tenderness of his injured calves. Skilfully, Regina applied the potion over the places where Robin's skin had been slashed, making him wince once or two times more.

The Queen had seen magic couple of times, but she had never enjoyed the way her mother used it; curing Robin, however, had felt amazing. Watching his slitted skin enchantingly mended, leaving not even a scar behind, was simply indescribable. Regina trailed her hands over Robin's calves, not believing that they had really healed.

"It worked," Regina let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

"I never doubt it wouldn't," Robin replied and pressed his lips against Regina's, thanking her with a short-lasting kiss.

Regina looked over her shoulder, worried once again, but Snow was still deep into her conversation with David; so she allowed herself to enjoy Robin's lips, not touching them with her lips because it was still too risky, but pressing her fingers against them. The Outlaw kissed Regina's fingers twice, and then let them rest over his mouth for as long as Regina needed.

"I should go," the Queen broke their almost intimate moment by standing up and walking out the cell, "Snow, we are leaving. Say goodbye to David,"

"Your Majesty," Robin called her from his cell's door, "Thank you, for healing my wounds," he said, locking his cell's door.

"Have a good night rest, Robin Hood, you have a long day ahead of you," she replied, in her best queenly tone, "Goodnight, David," the Queen added to the other prisoner, and then she left the room, once again followed by her step daughter.

They took the same passaged they had used to get there, but their walk back to the Princess's room was a silent one.

After her talking with David, Snow had realised that David would never forgive her if her father killed Robin Hood, and it broke her heart. Almost in the same way Regina's heart was breaking, losing all the hope of freeing Robin from the King's sentence. The Queen knew that all her hopes for a good future laid on Tinkerbell's shoulders now and she was still not sure if that eased her or not.

Either way, both Queen and Princess were sure about something: tomorrow would change _everything_.


	16. Chapter 16

**WARNING!**

This update contains graphic violence/harm to a main character.  
(little bit more gruesome than Robin's trial)

* * *

Regina hated violence. It was one of her mother's favourite kind of punishments, and while Regina didn't consider herself a victim nor scared for life by it, she did her best to avoid watching any kind of maltreatment to any living being. The King never insisted for her, nor Snow White, to attend to these kind of events; the peasants, however, loved the spectacle - unless, the person being sentenced was close to them.

It came by surprise to the King that his wife wanted to go to the execution; but he didn't inquire her reasons, he just smiled at her and offered himself as escort. Regina sat next to Leopold in the Royal grandstand, she had never been there before. From the comfort of her chair, she could see the whole square, where a platform had been built just for the occasion. On the platform there was one a man - a religious scholar wearing a purple tunic, he was standing next to a table, waiting for the hangmen to arrive with the sentenced man.

Below the grandstand, the courtyard was swarming with people, they had all come to see Robin Hood, the legend, die. Most of them were sad and had come to say their last farewell to the Prince of Thieves, some of them were thrilled to be part of their Kingdom's history. The countrymen's seething could be felt in their silence - the crowd stood noiseless while they waited.

And then, the people started parting, and the clop of hooves - eight hooves: two horses, Regina realised - announced Robin's arrival. Regina fought the urge to stand up, she could see the cart being pulled by two brown horses from her seat but somehow she felt that she would feel better on a standing position. Next to her, the Queen felt her husband tense up.

She looked down at the people, and understood the reason behind Leopold's stiffness: the plebeians were throwing roses in the path, before or as Robin's cart advanced amongst the crowd. It made her heart clench inside her chest and the pain became almost unbearable - not only she was losing the love of her life, but the people were losing their hope.

When the horses reached the platform's stairs, two men dressed as executioners jumped out of the cart and pulled Robin with them. Robin was shirtless and his legs and hands were tied up. His head was covered with a bag that looked a lot like a potato sack, but Regina knew it was him, his back was marked with the lashes' scars that he had gotten last time he challenged a king. Regina returned her attention to the two hangmen, she couldn't see their faces due to their black masks, but by the way they dragged Robin up the stairs, she knew they were not Will and Arthur.

Impatiently, Regina scanned through the crowd, searching for the two merry men who had been with Robin las night. She found them standing among the crowd, wearing their merry men clothes and a dreadful expression on their faces. She held her gaze for a while, to see if they would make eye contact with her, but it seemed like they were avoiding her. Their behaviour made Regina worry whether it was true that Robin and his men had a plan or not.

The Queen tried to calm the anxiety that was growing inside of her and averted her gaze to somewhere else. Up in the platform, the executioners had already unmasked Robin. He was standing on a small stool, a rope around his neck.

"Robin Hood, you have been accused of acts of high treason against your King and been sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered," the religious scholar said, clear and loudly, as he stood next to Robin "Do you have any last words or wishes?" he asked.

"The man behind the idea might die today, but the idea will never die," Robin yelled to the King. The crowd remained in silence, too afraid to cheer, "Robin Hood is not a man, it is the voice of the people that kings have decided to silence. And it will live on, long after we are all dead, there will always be someone who will stand up against the tyranny, who will stand up for what is right,"

Then, Robin Hood shut up, he had never been the kind of person to give a long speech. His words, though, had touched more than one person standing in the crowd. Following Robin's silence, the scholar started reciting the text which was usually read to people before their deaths. Regina noticed the man knew the sentences by heart, and she wondered how many times had he said the words. The drums started playing shortly afterwards, providing a bizarre musical accompaniment to the scholar's words that made Regina's heart beat faster and harder.

When the scholar finished with his memorised paragraphs and the drums stopped playing, one of the executioners kicked the stool in which Robin was standing. And Robin's body plummeted few inches - enough to make the rope tighten around his neck. Immediately, the hanged man tried to gasp for air, and his face turned red.

Regina tried to look away, but at that moment Robin's eyes connected with hers and she knew she couldn't leave him alone in this moment. She knew that by holding his gaze she was doing the only thing she could: assure him that he was not alone.

That didn't stop the Queen's chest from hurting, or her breathing from becoming short and rapid. _This was the end_, she admitted to herself as Robin turned purple, this was how their story was going to end. She would once again, be alone and heart broken - mourning for a second time, a life filled with _what ifs?_. Regina felt dizzy at the realisation; in front of her, Robin still hanged from the rope and his skin was slowly turning into all shades of blue.

But dying by asphyxiation was a merciful death in comparison to what fate had prepared for Robin. His sentence had just started.

Regina couldn't help the chills that ran down her spine, nor the nauseous feeling in her throat, while she watch the executioners cut the rope by which Robin hanged and dragged him to a table. The Thief hadn't even recovered from the air deprivation and the hangmen were already preparing for their next task: drawn. She didn't know if she could handle it, to see Robin cut alive in front of her eyes and all his internal organs showed to the spectators.

"Stop!" she announced before the executioner could go further with Robin's sentence, she turn to speak to the King, "I'm pregnant," the Queen blurted out the first thing that came to her mind. It took everyone by surprise, even herself. She didn't know where that lie had come from - it was a terrible lie since it was hard to forge, but it was already out and she had to play her cards now.

Leopold's face lightened up, "Are you sure?" he asked, and the tortured man who laid on a platform few meters away was suddenly unimportant to everyone.

"Yes, my King," Regina replied and took his hands on hers. She needed to act the part of a loving, pregnant wife, "I had my doubts when my bleeding got delayed, but yesterday I started with my sicknesses as well,"

The King let a joyful laugh out, "Did everybody hear that? I'm going to be a father!"

Everyone in the crowd clapped, but it didn't feel completely cheerful. Regina shifted, her eyes from the man she despised, to the man she loved with all her heart. Robin's eyes locked with hers for few moments and then he looked to the ground: Regina's betrayal was killing him in more ways than Leopold's sentence had and it shattered Regina's heart even more.

The story about Robin Hood's last heartbreak vaguely echoed in Regina's mind. He had already gone through something like this, and he couldn't handle it a second time. He had given up because of what she had done, Robin looked defeated and it was _her_ fault -_ she_ had broken Robin's spirit.

"My Queen, this is motive for celebration. Ask for anything, and it will be yours," she heard Leopold say, and his words brought her back to reality, back to the reason why she had done this.

Regina turned her back to Robin and kneeled in front of King Leopold. She had never kneeled in front of anyone and it felt degrading; but for Robin's life, she would do that and so much more. "I want you to forgive this petty thief's life. And I want the shepherd out of the castle," the Queen requested, trying to inject as much venom as she could.

"So be it," the King nodded, "I've decided to pardon your life, Robin Hood, you shall return to the dungeons, where you'll life the rest of your days," he said in a commanding voice, "And I grant full pardon to the Shepherd, he shall return to his house today," Leopold announced to the crowd, not standing up from his throne.

"Thank you," Regina whispered and kissed Leopold's hands before she stood up, "Thank you, your Majesty," she repeated, bowing to him and then asked to be excused, saying that the execution had tired her and she needed to return to her room to rest.

Regina couldn't believe this scam had actually worked, she had saved Robin and freed David. But at what price? She knew what this stunt had done to Robin, and now she needed to fix that.

She also needed to find a way to fake a pregnancy, maybe Tinkerbell would help her cover her lies. But that was not important at the present time. She needed to find Robin Hood and tell him the truth.

* * *

**FUN FACT**

Anonymous is considered _digital Robin Hoods_ by supporters - so Robin's words are kind of true :)


	17. Chapter 17

Tinkerbell had been waiting Regina in the Queen's chambers. Already grown to her human size, the fairy was leaning against the frame of the balcony's entrance with her arms crossed and her eyebrows furrowed.

"Really, Regina?" the fairy asked as soon as Regina closed the door behind her, "A fake pregnancy? You know how hard it is to pull that out? No, actually, scratch that. It is not hard, it is_impossible_,"

Tinkerbell started pacing from one side of the room to the other one. And Regina could only sit on the edge of the bed and followed the fairy with her eyes. She knew it hadn't been her brightest idea, but she had panicked. And she didn't do well when she panicked.

"When I said '_I'll think of something_' I didn't mean '_Go and lie to the whole kingdom and say you are pregnant_'!" the fairy kept bickering "That's the stupidest idea I've _ever_ heard! And that comes from a person who gave a sleeping potion to a person and didn't think about the effect of said potion on the person's significant other,"

Regina's face brightened up as a new idea popped into her mind. "That's it!"

Tink stopped abruptly her anxious pace and looked at her "What?" she asked confused.

"The sleeping potion," Regina said, "I'll need some to fake my death," she stood up, "I'll fake my death, just like Juliet did. During the commotion caused by my funeral you'll help Robin escape. And then, after I'm buried, Robin will wake me up with true love's kiss,"

It was a brilliant plan, the King would never search for her because everyone will think she's dead. She and Robin would move to other kingdom, were Leopold couldn't send search parties, and they would live happily.

"Did you miss the part where I told you that both, Romeo and Juliet, actually ended up dead?" the fairy asked in a sharp tone that Regina felt as an invisible slap.

"But we won't, because we will tell Robin about the plan,"

Tinkerbell sighed, "I don't like this idea," she said and walked towards Regina, "But, I promised I'd help you, and if you decided to go down this path, then I'll walk it with you," the fairy added, taking Regina's hands on hers. "We've got a lot to plan, it has to be perfect,"

The sun had already set and the sky was already dark as coal by the time the Queen and the Fairy tied all the loose ends in their master plan. _Operation Slumber_, Tinkerbell had called it and Regina couldn't help but to roll her eyes at the childish name the fairy had given to the plan that could either give her her happy ending or ruin her life forever.

"Alright, it's time for me to go and get the potion," Tinkerbell said shrinking to her pixie size, "Remember to tell Robin about the plan," the fairy added in the high-pitched voice that annoyed Regina so much.

"Yes, I'll head off to the dungeons as soon as I get hold of Snow White and ask her to take me there,"

"That won't do," Tink stated, "You'll have to forgive me, but I don't trust her enough and she could overhear the plan,"

"I don't know how to get to the dungeons on my own, Tink,"

"Luckily for us, I still got some tricks up my sleeve," she replied and magicked a wand, "This will guide you to your true love," the fairy explained as she wiggled her wand and small purple rock appeared on Regina's hand.

It was of smooth texture, not much larger than a bean and it seemed to glow faintly. At first Regina thought it was just the material reflecting the torch's light, but when Tinkerbell talked she realized it was something completely different:

"This is a firefly stone," the blonde pixie commented, "The closer you are to Robin, the stronger it will light,"

Regina closed her fist around the stone and brought it close to her chest "Thank you," she whispered, not sure why, since no one could really hear them. Maybe because she was afraid of losing the magical object that will guide her to the man who had saved her from the darkness.

"I'll come back tomorrow," the green fairy added, "Make sure you follow your part of the plan until then," and with that, Tinkerbell flew out of the window.

That night, after everyone had gone to bed, Regina sneaked out of her room through the service door and used the rock she had received from Tinkerbell to get to the dungeons. Granted, it had taken longer than when she went with Snow as guide since she took a couple of wrong turns; but she reached her destination eventually.

Luckily for her, Will and Arthur were again in night duty.

"Regina," Will nodded at her, "I thought you'd be celebrating," the merry man pointed out coldly.

"Let me pass," the Queen demanded in a similar tone.

"What good will that do?" Arthur was the one who spoke this time, "He's already aching enough!"

"I need to speak to him!" Regina said, and this time she was not giving orders, this time she was begging to see Robin.

Will and Arthur looked at each other, having a silent conversation, as they decided whether to let Regina pass or not. At the end, they allowed Regina to enter, not without warning that they'd be listening carefully, and if they heard any sign of discomfort coming from Robin, they'd take Regina out of the prison - it didn't matter if they had to drag the Queen to do so.

Robin noticed her presence as soon as she stepped into the cell and the door was closed behind her.

"Forgive me, your majesty, if I don't stand up," his voice was raspy and convened so much pain "Your Husband's rage got the best of my limbs," he added.

She looked around, the other cell was already empty. "I see David was already sent home,"

"Yes, we should be grateful to your husband's forgiveness," Regina flinched at his words. Never in her life, did she imagine she'd hear so much hate in his voice.

Regina clenched her fists but stayed in silence. She hadn't come here to fight with Robin, but he was making it so difficult. The Queen looked away, staring at the Prisoner was becoming too heartbreaking for her.

"I guess I should congratulate you?" Robin broke the silence.

She turned around to look at him. Life in prison was doing him no good, some of his hair had already started to turn white due to the stress and he had already lost weight, and muscle mass, during his short stay in the Castle's dungeons. He had even lost his scent, he no longer smelled like the forest.

"There's nothing to congratulate,"

"You are not pregnant?"

"No," the Queen replied.

"And he believed you?"

"It is not like he hasn't tried," she snapped.

Robin must have understood the meaning behind the sentence, because his jaw and fists clenched. An almost silent '_Sorry_' echoed through the prison walls, and then silence wrapped them.

"I guess my mother was right all that time, I am damaged goods," Regina said after a while. She laid her back against the wall and slid down, ending up seated next to Robin - the bars between them.

He placed his hand on one of hers, and for a moment Regina believed they were back at the forest.

"You are not damaged, Regina," he said quietly, "You are the most resilient person I've ever met," the Outlaw added, "But I still don't understand why you lied,"

"I had to stop the execution, Robin,"

"I told you I had a plan,"

"And, what did you expect me to do?" Regina shifted her body into a kneeling position, their hands no longer touching, "Sit and hope your plan works?"

"Yes!" Robin replied, the desperation could be felt on that monosyllable. "Now you have to fake a pregnancy, and the Gods know that's impossible!"

"You were dying, Robin! You were turning blue!" she yelled as she stood up "I don't know what your plan was, but it was definitely not working!" the Queen added, "And if you believe for a second that -,"

Regina was interrupted by the door opening.

"The King is on his way," Will let out, before any of them could complain about his intrusion. "He sent a messenger so we could wake you up and prepare you for his visit," he added, then he looked at Regina "You need to get out of here, now!"

There was nothing Regina could say nor do to convince Will to let her stay. She tried to tell Will she needed more time with Robin, that they needed to discuss something important, but he grabbed her by the arm and dragged her out. The merry man kept saying how someone had to be the smart one in these compilations of failed plans, or they would end up dead.

Without letting Regina tell him the plan, Will pushed Regina into the secret hallway, and closed the door just in time to block the passage from the King's sight.

"Guard!" Regina heard from behind the door as Leopold addressed to Will, "Did you get my message?"

"We did your majesty," Will replied, "The prisoner was awakened from his slumber as you requested, Sir,"

"Good," the King commented, and the next sentence hurt Regina - like taking a stab straight to the heart: "After I'm done with what I have in mind for him, I don't think he'll be able to sleep for the next days," a chuckle followed the statement.

And then Regina ran, she ran as fast as she could. Because she knew she couldn't rescue Robin from what the King had planned without putting her plan in jeopardy. But, she couldn't stay and hear how the love of her life was being tortured by the vile man.

Regina collapsed in her room. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't move. She could only cry. And cry. As she had cried when she was little and her mother locked her in the dark den because she had misbehaved, as she had cried when Daniel was killed because he had loved her.

This was all happening because of her.

And the worst part was that she couldn't tell Robin about the sleeping potion and their plan. How was she supposed to save his life, when she couldn't even deliver a message?


	18. Chapter 18

To **Vanessa**, **Esther **and my beta, **Kata**, for helping me with this chapter!

* * *

When Regina had visited Robin the next morning, Will and Arthur didn't want to let her pass. They told her that Robin was sleeping - resting from all the commotion he had lived in the past days. The Queen, however, didn't believe them and demanded to see her True Love. She had always been stubborn, and the Merry Men posing as King's Guards knew that - they reluctantly let her enter into the dungeons after the persistent Queen said she wouldn't leave until she talked to Robin.

The Queen found Robin laying in one of his sides, his back towards her. At first she thought that Will Scarlet had been telling the truth when he said Robin was resting. She decided to kiss Robin's forehead and come back later, but when Regina was close to Robin she realised that the man was not resting - he was suffering in silence.

Leopold had inflicted all types of injury on Robin's body. The Outlaw was burnt, cut and hit in different places - his skin damaged, probably beyond repair. Regina didn't step forward; she didn't touch Robin, afraid that she'd hurt him further. She clenched her fists tightly, as hate and frustration grew inside of her and filled every inch of her body. No one deserved the treatment that Robin had received in the past days, and this was the last thing she would accept.

Regina stormed out of the dungeons with a regal pose, and didn't stop to speak to the two men who had let her in minutes ago. She wore determination in her face: she would make Leopold pay for this.

On her way towards the throne room, she was intercepted by Tinkerbell. The fairy looked at Regina with a worried face.

"Regina,"

"Not now, Tink," the Queen didn't even stop to speak to the pixie.

"Regina, please listen to me!" the fairy demanded, flying at a high speed to keep up with the Queen's pace, "I don't know what is running through your mind right but I can see it's nothing good. If you give in to darkness, Regina, you'll lose yourself,"

"I already lost myself to darkness, Moth," Regina stopped abruptly and Tinkerbell flew against Regina, "I threw my mother through a mirror, I exiled her without fair trail!"

"And did that make you happy?" Tink tried to reason with her, "Because you were bitter long after that. Darkness is never the solution, Regina,"

Regina looked down, her face softening - anger turning into sorrow. "You didn't see him, Tink," she let out, almost in a whisper, "You didn't see what Leopold did to him,"

"And whatever you had planned for Leopold won't fix Robin, or make him feel better,"

"I - I don't know what to do,"

"Pick love over hate, Regina!"

"I'm not sure I can do that, Tink,"

"Yes, you can - I believe in you!" the fairy replied.

Regina took a deep breath, "I can do this," she repeated to herself a couple of times. Tinkerbell didn't add anything as Regina tried to calm herself, instead she grew herself into a human-sized creature and made her wings disappear.

"Yes, you can," Tink repeated and placed a hand on Regina's shoulder.

"I'm sorry for my behavior,"

"You are human," Tinkerbell shrugged as she pushed one of Regina's locks of hair behind her ear, "It is normal to have those moments of self-doubt, but the important thing is to make the right choice in the end,"

"I wouldn't have, had you given up on me,"

"What matters is that _you_ don't give up on yourself," the Fairy replied with a smile. "I got the potion!" she added, producing a small vial from under her sleeve. "Did you tell Robin?"

"I didn't have a chance," Regina replied. "We were interrupted by the King," she explained, "I don't know what to do,"

"Be brave," the Fairy replied, "That's the last ingredient for this plan to work. That is, if you still want this,"

"I do," Regina nodded, "If I ever dreamed a dream, or wished a wish, or search for fortune; they would lead me to Robin."

Tinkerbell smiled at the Queen. She had always loved to see hopeless romantics, they were what kept her going in this dark world. "Very well," the Fairy nodded, "Are you ready to fake your death?"

"But Robin -,"

"I'll cure his wounds, help him escape and tell him our plan," the Fairy interrupted the Queen, "If you trust me with those tasks,"

"I trust you, Tinkerbell," Regina stated, "You are the only real friend I've ever had,"

Tinkerbell had to fight back the tears that were threatening to escape from her eyes when Regina said that. Emotions were not something that happened often to fairies, but Tinkerbell had been living for far too long among humans and had started behaving like them. No one had trusted the Fairy ever since the Rome and Juliet event; but Regina did, even after she had heard the story, even if she knew how this could end - how it had ended last time.

"I will meet you in my chambers," Regina broke the moment, "I want to hug Snow White one last time," the fairy smirked at the comment and her question when unasked, "I have to admit that she has grown on me, she's far more tolerable now,"

"That's because your heart forgave her, Regina,"

Regina rolled her eyes, even if deep inside, she knew it was true. The Queen knew that ever since Robin had fixed her heart, she had found peace - and that peace had extended and healed her relationship with the Princess. Besides, Regina couldn't help but to feel a little bit guilty about leaving Snow alone; the girl had already endured losing a mother. But, she needed to do this, otherwise she'd never be happy, and only the Gods know what would happen to Robin.

Maybe, she reasoned with herself, maybe one day, after the King dies, she'll come back and tell Snow the truth. The Princess was many things, but resentful was not one of them. Regina just hoped that the girl would understand her reasons.

As soon as she walked into the girl's room, small arms were wrapping her waist. She looked down, to see Snow White hugging her tightly. A single tear ran down Regina's cheek and landed on Snow's arm.

"Did I hug you too tightly? Did I hurt you?" she asked worried.

Regina cleaned the wet trail that the tear had left behind, "No, Snow, you didn't hurt me - quite the opposite,"

"Then, why are you crying?"

"Sometimes, we cry because we are happy," the Queen lied. She lied because she knew that her fake death would hurt Snow. She lied because she knew that she'd miss the princess.

"Did I make you happy?"

"Yes, Snow," Regina replied, and this time it was the truth, "You make me happy," she knelt to the Princess height, "Promise me something, Snow," the Queen said in a pleading tone, her eyes looking straight into Snow's.

"Anything," the girl whispered back. And Regina realised this was the first time they were really behaving like mother and daughter.

"Promise me you'll grow up to be a fair ruler and a good queen,"

"Why does this sound like a goodbye?"

The question hit Regina in the gut like a punch. It sounded like a goodbye, because that was what it was. "Time will pass faster now, Snow, specially with a baby coming," she kept lying to the princess, in an attempt of not revealing her plan, "I'm afraid that in a blink you'll be a grown up woman. So, please promise me, that no matter what, you won't let darkness fill your heart,"

"I promise,"

"And promise that when you find true love, you'll fight for it, and you'll protect it," she added,

"I promise,"

"Now, go to bed. Tomorrow will be a long day," Regina said, kissing Snow White's forehead and walking towards the room's entrance.

"Good night, Regina," the Queen heard the Princess say as she closed the door behind her.

"Goodbye, Snow," she whispered to herself and leaned against the door. She stayed there for a while, allowing herself to mourn her relationship with the Princess whom she'll not see again, at least for a few years. This time, it was not a single tear the one that escaped from her eyes; this time, tears came pouring like a storm.

Slowly, she made her way back to her chambers. The trip seemed longer than usual, she couldn't believe this would be the last time that she would walk through these hallways. She tried to remember every single detail. Everything would be different the next time she would wake up. She wouldn't be a queen anymore, but she would be free, and she'd be with the man who truly she loves.

"Alright, Tinkerbell," she said, with more optimism, "Let's do this,"

The Fairy handled her the vial. The glass container was filled with a shiny, glowing, purple potion. Regina couldn't believe she was using magic willingly, after everything she had endured while she lived under Cora's claws - if it had taught her something, was that magic always had a catch: it always came with a price.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" the Queen asked, now skeptical of the magical properties that the liquid inside the vial had.

"Do you love Robin?"

"Of course I do," Regina replied, "More than anything in this or any world,"

"Then trust your love is pure enough to break the curse,"

"What about the price to pay? For using this magic?"

"Theoretically, there's no price," the Fairy replied, "However, some people who had awakened do tell some horrifying stories while they were under the curse. Nightmares after the curse have been reported," the blonde fairy notified her.

Regina nodded, understanding that the price would be hers to pay, not Robin's, not anyone else's. She raised the vial and said "To second chances," before she drowned the liquid in one sip.

The Queen's world started spinning as the bittersweet juice travelled from her mouth to her stomach. She faintly heard Tinkerbell calling her name, and then she started to fall. Fall towards the flooring. Fall towards the darkness. She vaguely registered that the fairy had caught her before her head hit the stone floor, and had gently placed her on the stone cold ground. Regina knew the fairy was talking to her, but she couldn't understand the words that were being said.

The world around her started to darken and get cold, and she wondered if this is how dying felt like - if Daniel had felt this way when Cora killed him. The air around her started to thicken, and dark red flames started to lighten the corners of the room where she now was. The flames were bright but did not warm the place, and Regina felt the urge to rub her hands to keep them from freezing.

It was a nightmare and she wanted to wake up; but she couldn't. Regina tried to yell, to make someone acknowledge her presence. But nothing came out of her mouth. And she started to wonder if this had been a good idea after all. She couldn't move, not even open her eyes. Her body was so heavy, even breathing had become an arduous work.

She couldn't lose hope, now. She had to believe in Robin and in their love. And that he would come and save her. She had to wait for him. After all, darkness and loneliness were not foreign to her.


	19. Chapter 19

Tinkerbell saw Regina's pale body resting in the floor. The Queen looked lifeless, and the Fairy had to remind herself that Regina had not died, she was simply in a deep slumber. However, it reminded her of Juliet, and how bad that episode had turned out. But not this time, Regina had given her a second chance, and she would right her wrongs - she owed it to Regina and to Juliet: Love had to win this time.

The fairy knew it wouldn't be long until one of the Queen's maids came into her chambers in order to assist the Queen with her bath and will find a corpse-looking body instead of a living woman. She knelt next to the woman, and caressed her forehead, "Have sweet dreams, Regina," she whispered before flying out of the window and towards the dungeons, making a quick stop at the stables first.

The two Merry Men posing as guards, Will and Arthur, had a hard time believing that she was Regina's friend and that the Queen had sent her. However, after much insistence, they let her pass to talk to Robin, following her close behind.

The fairy tried not to twist her mouth into a grimace when she saw Robin's physical state, it made her understand why Regina had been seeking revenge against the King. Without asking for consent, Tinkerbell waved her wand over Robin's body to heal him. The Outlaw winced as his skin stitched together, leaving nothing more than faint scars, enough to remind them of the torture he had survived in the name of true love.

"We've got to move," Tinkerbell told Robin.

"You are Regina's fairy friend, aren't you?"

The fairy nodded, touched that Regina had told Robin about her. "Now," she turned to the two healthy Merry Men, "Help him stand up. You will have to help him walk until we are outside the castle's wall,"

"How are we going to walk across the bloody castle's door without being seen by any guard?" Will asked, as Arthur helped Robin to his feet.

"I have enough poppy seeds to keep them all asleep as we walk," Tink explained, "But they wear off fairly fast, that's why we need to hurry,"

None of the three men questioned Tinkerbell's plan anymore, they simply followed her through the maze of hallways and secret passages that the castle had. The foursome encountered few guards on their way to the stables; but the Fairy was fast, and before they could alert someone else, she would put them to sleep.

The night was clouded and chilly, a storm was definitely brewing above their heads. A little bit outside the castle's walls, there were three horses tied to a tree. The fairy had managed to steal three horses before she went to get the Merry Men, she had on purpose taken Rocinante, Regina's horse, with them. Tinkerbell knew that no one would miss Regina's horse, but it would mean the world to Regina to have him with her once she woke up.

Will and Arthur climbed their horses, not noticing something that had caught Robin's attention.

"Where's Regina?" he asked Tinkerbell.

"She's not coming with us," Tinkerbell stated, "She'll join us later, we need to go,"

"I'm not going without her,"

"Robin," the Fairy said in a serious voice, "We have a plan, Regina and I. You have to trust me,"

"And why would I trust you. I don't know you!"

"Because Regina trusts me,"

That seemed enough for Robin, who climbed onto Regina's horse. "There's a tavern in the edge of the woods," he told Tinkerbell, "We'll rent a room for the night. Meet us there and you'll tell us about this plan of yours,"

Tinkerbell nodded. The fairy was about to reply something when the tower bells started sounded, which meant that either they found Regina's body or they realised that Robin had escaped - maybe both. Either way, the Merry Men needed to put some distance between them and the King's guards. "Go!" she yelled, slapping Rocinante in the back, the horse reared and then took off. Will and Arthur followed their leader close behind.

The fairy knew she had some time to go to the castle before making her way to the tavern were she was supposed to meet Robin, so she decided to go to the castle. It turned out that the bells were sounding to announce the Queen's death. Luckily for the Merry Men, the commotion created by Regina's unsuspected death had served as cover to their escape, and no one was currently looking for them.

It seemed that news flew faster than fairies in this realm, because by the time Tinkerbell reached Robin's rented room, he was already reduced to angry tears.

"She died!" he yelled at her and hit the table with his fists "You asked me to trust you and now she's dead!"

"No, she's not," Tinkerbell said trying to remain calm.

"What do you mean she's not dead?!" Robin demanded, "Don't you dare lie to me, fairy! How can she not be dead, when the news of her vigil have already reached the ears of everyone in the kingdom,"

"This is part of our plan,"

"What kind of plan involves killing someone?"

"She's not dead,"

"So, you are faking her death?" Tinkerbell nodded at Robin's question, "That's even more ridiculous than faking a pregnancy! If the King finds out, he will kill her,"

"But he won't find out," the fairy replied, "Why don't you take a seat, and let me explain everything to you?"

Robin did as Tinkerbell asked. And in turn, she did as she promised. She started with the day she had met Regina, and how she had decided to keep an eye on the Queen to make sure that she got her happy ending. The Merry Men listened to the fairy in silence, keeping their comments to themselves.

"Let me see if I understood this correctly," Will placed his elbows over the table and leaned his weight on them, "You gave Regina a sleeping potion, that makes her look dead. And you are asking us that after she's buried we have to break into the King's graveyard, dig her grave open and make Robin kiss her not-so-dead-corpse to break the curse?"

"That's the plan," Tinkerbell nodded.

"And are you certain this will work?" Robin asked quite skeptic, "How do you know she's not dead? How do you know the potion didn't kill her?"

The fairy looked at him and smiled before answering, "Listen to your heart. What does it tell you?"

Robin shifted his gaze from his two men to the fairy, and then closed his eyes and felt his heart beat.

_Lubdub. Lubdub._

Even with his eyes closed, he could feel his companions staring at him. But he didn't mind, he wasn't pay attention to them. Because the moment he closed his eyes, he only saw a pair of dark chocolate eyes looking back at him.

_Lubdub. Lubdub._

Regina was not dead.


	20. Chapter 20

Well, this is it. This is the end. This is the last chapter of this story, and I can't believe we've made it so far. I'll take use of the occasion and thank everyone who read this story, whether it was from the beginning or almost at the end - You don't know how you have brightened my days with reviews and follows.

There_** will** be _an epilogue which I'll update on May 12th (Yes, this date is a promise since it's exactly one year after I published the first chapter).

Enjoy!

Mara.

* * *

When a peasant died, the vigil usually lasted until the next day; come dawn, the deceased person was taken to the closest graveyard and buried. However, when a royal died, the vigils took longer; somewhere between a week and a month, their bodies preserved by magic provided by a fairy, to allow royals coming from other kingdoms to say their farewell to the blue blood. It was announced that Regina's vigil would last two weeks. And Tinkerbell had pretended to place the spell after Snow White had pointed her as Regina's fairy godmother.

There was nothing to do during the vigil: they couldn't wake Regina up before the funeral. It meant that Robin had to patiently wait for the Queen's vigil to end.

The waiting was driving Robin insane. He had assisted the vigil every day, disguised as an old beggar. The Outlaw wanted nothing but to grab the woman by the hand and whisper loving words into her ear. But the knights wouldn't allow it: only the Royals were allowed to get close to the deceased Queen. He had to settle for being able to watch Regina from afar, from a dark corner, where no one would be able to recognise the face below the worn out hood he had acquired just for the occasion.

The vigil, however, had given the Merry Men enough time to plan Regina's awakening. Or at least to express some ideas regarding the (second) rescue mission.

"We need to find a body to place on the Queen's coffin," Arthur pointed out.

"Why? It's not like they'll open the coffin," Tinkerbell asked

"Not the royals, but thieves? For sure!" Arthur replied, "And a missing Queen won't go unnoticed,"

"True," Will reasoned, they were no strangers to stealing from the dead - it was not like corpses needed jewellery anyway and desperate times call for desperate measures. "I heard one of the ladies that used to beg on the dirt road died few days and no one has buried her,"

His idea was received with disgust by the other two merry men, who jumped at the same time "Will!"

"What?" the alluded man shrugged "The beggar needs a place to rest, and Regina won't need her coffin after you kiss her," Will threw kisses to the air.

No one had admitted that Will's idea had been brilliant, but they all thought about it. At the end, they decided to go along with it and Tinkerbell had agreed on performing a glamour spell to make the beggar look like a dead Regina.

The Queen's funeral took place on a cold and rainy day, it was a mirror image of how lonely and depressing her life had been. Royals from all kingdoms came to say goodbye to the fairest of them all. She was buried on the dress that young Snow White had chosen for her: an elegant black gown, that covered from above her breasts and as far as her toes; the Queen's clavicles and arms were enveloped by an ostentatious, yet beautiful, black lace.

That day, the King locked himself with three whores, and several dozens of wine bottles, in his chambers; he was the only royal who had not appeared on his late wife's funeral. His actions had been condemned in silence by everyone; they all thought that, king or not, Leopold had to pay his respects to Regina.

Little Snow White had been left to the care of her nanny, to mourn alone the death of the second woman who had been her mother. The royals and peasants who had gathered for the funeral witnessed a change that day, while the princesse said goodbye to her step-mother's coffin. They saw how the Princess became an adult that day; how she raised from tragedy, like a phoenix from the ashes, and became their new true leader.

The bad weather worked on the Merry Men's favour: the funeral ceremony had ended quickly since, no matter how much respect they held for the Queen, no one wanted to catch a cold.

Rain was pouring like a waterfall by the time the three Merry Men and the Fairy reached the King's graveyard. Luckily, there were no soldiers guarding the entrance to the cemetery. Hoping for the best but ready for the worst, they slowly made their way on a cart pulled by Regina's horse, the beggar's corpse safely hidden under a rug. It had not been hard to identify the Queen's mausoleum, the greek-resembling temple was the only one with recently polished marble and decorated with flower bouquets.

"Alright, we better hurry up," Will pressured them as soon as they climbed off the cart.

"Thank you for stating the obvious," Arthur rolled his eyes while they approached the ornate bronze gates, "Alright, Scarlet, show us what you've got,"

"Always a pleasure," the thief said, cracking his neck and getting down to business.

After his third unsuccessful try, Tinkerbell lost her patience and opened the door by magic. The three men protested, asking why she hadn't done that from the beginning. The Fairy shrugged and walked into the mausoleum, the men following her close behind.

On the inside, the Mausoleum was not as ostentatious as it was on the outside. The hallway had half a dozen roman columns lined up and at the end of the hall a tomb could be seen. The walls were hardly decorated, and the only thing that gave it a personal touch was a miniature apple tree that Snow White had left during the burial next to Regina's resting place.

The coffin, placed in the middle of the room and surrounded by few candles and flowers, was made of silver and decorated with purple sapphires. Over the tomb there was a skylight mosaic, the little glass pieces formed patterns of a classical motif. Through it, the moon's light shone, illuminating Regina's coffin.

Carefully, Robin approached to the tomb and slid the upper lid open. Inside, Regina laid with her hands placed over her chest.

"She looks so peaceful," Robin commented, caressing Regina's cheek, "Just like she is sleeping."

"She is sleeping," Tinkerbell said, placing a hand on his shoulder, "We'll give you some privacy," the fairy added, motioning the other two Merry Men to follow her outside and help her carry the beggar's body that they had left on the cart.

Robin watched them leave: Will complaining about having to touch a week old corpse and Arthur reminding him that it had been his plan. When he was alone in the Mausoleum he turned his sight to Regina's sleeping body.

"My beautiful Regina," he whispered, "The moment I thought I lost you, was the moment I realised that I couldn't live without you," Robin caressed the Queen's cheeks with his thumbs, "And as the vigil days passed, I grew more and more anxious. I didn't want to wait any longer, I wanted to wake you up. But my recklessness has always brought us so much pain, so I decided to listen to your plan and to wait," he let a laugh out, "The Gods know I should have done that a long time ago,"

He smiled down at Regina, studying every inch of the Queen's beautiful face. Robin had never believed in magic before he met Regina and here he was, putting all his faith on True Love's kiss, she had brought that into his life, she had give his life a new meaning.

"I've lived a dishonest life, but there's one thing I did right: kidnapping you," Robin confessed, "And I swear, on our love, that if you come back to me, I'll become the man you deserve," he leaned over Regina's body, "I love you," the Thief added, before closing the distance between Regina's mouth and his.

They say that when you kiss your soulmate, the time slows and you the world brightens. They say that when you kiss your true love, you hear bells and you feel invincible. And now Robin believed what they said. Because as he pressed his lips against Regina's all those things happened. His blood warmed up; his heart was complete again and he felt like he could finally breath, he felt like he could challenge any man alive and walk away as victor.

The Thief slowly backed off, coming back to reality. His eyes still closed, unsure of whether he wanted to find out what happened. And then he heard her voice and it brought him back to reality - but he didn't care about the rush anymore, because it was her voice, and it was beautiful.

"Robin," his eyes opened, and then he saw her in all her glory. Regina was sitting, with a smile on her face, in front of him. She was alive and she looked at peace. She was even more ravishing and perfect than the last time he had seen her.

"Regina!" Robin cupped her cheeks and kissed her. Three times.

The Queen covered his hands with hers, accepting all the adoration and care Robin was giving her. Rejoicing in the happiness she was finally able to enjoy without any consequences - she was, once and for all, free to love and to be loved.

"Why don't we take this to another place?" they were interrupted by Will, "For example: anywhere but this bloody kingdom,"

Regina giggled, allowing herself to be happy. For the first time in her life she was unchained, for the first time in her life she could do what her heart really desired.

After Regina's place in the coffin was replaced by the beggar's corpse and Tinkerbell had performed the glamour spell, the fugitives made their way towards the forest. Leaving the graveyard, the castle and everything that had happened in the past weeks behind them.

Already inside the woods, and sheltered by the trees, they said their farewells and parted on different ways. Will Scarlet returned to his love, Anastasia, claiming his days as thief were over (he would keep his word for a month before going back to his old ways). Arthur returned to the Merry Camp, as the new leader, and promised to continue Robin Hood's noble cause. Tinkerbell had to go back to Pixie Hollow to deal with whatever consequences her actions had had, she had promised to keep an eye on Regina and to visit them every now and then - wherever they might be.

Robin and Regina watched them all take their paths, thanking them for their help and wishing them the best of luck in the lives they had chosen.

"Where to, my love?" Robin asked, as he helped Regina climbing the only thing they owned: Regina's horse. "I don't have a house to offer, nor money to buy food," he explained. He had given up his wealth when he became an outlaw, and everything he earn as a thief belong to the people, not to him.

"Wherever Rocinante might take us," she replied with a genuine smile, "As long as I am with you, I don't need anything else."

"Ready for our next adventure, then?" the Merry Man jumped and sat on the horse, behind Regina. She leaned backwards, not getting enough of being with Robin, of having him with her. No one standing in the way of their happiness, now.

"Always,"

And with that, they rode away.

They rode as the sunlight broke the dark sky into a new day; and their lives into a new chapter, and new beginning.

**\- FIN -**


	21. Epilogue

Where we are, at the end of this beautiful and long road. It took one year of ups and downs, for both OQ and my personal life, but we made it out just fine! I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I did.

For those how asked if I'd write a sequel: there won't be a sequel - even thought your ideas of having someone else casting the curse were really good! Nevertheless, I already have couple of OQ ideas that will hopefully see the light during summer.

Thanks to each one of you, for everything! You've been great readers and friends. A big _thank you_ to xmyvampireheartx, for being not only my beta but also a amazing friend throughout this whole story.

**Without further ado:**

* * *

_**10 YEARS LATER...**_

Regina found Robin in their small stable. He had just finished tying their two horses to their family cart. Her presence went unnoticed by Robin and the two animals, who were too occupied, the horses eating hay and Robin loading the cart with their luggage and food basket. They had an eventful trip ahead of them.

"Good morning, Mr. Locksley," she greeted him, snaking her arms around his waist and resting her chin on his shoulder.

"Good morning, Mrs. Locksley," with a fluid movement, Robin twirled in her arms so that they were facing each other and placed a gentle kiss on her lips, "Ready for the trip?"

She nodded, "It's been long overdue, Robin," Regina said, her eyes finding Robin's jacket entertaining, "I made this promise a long time ago,"

"I know," he lifted her chin, "But I don't want you to do this out of obligation, but because you really want to,"

"I want to," Regina stated with a determined tone.

Robin didn't say anything else, he nodded in agreement and placed his lips against Regina's forehead, leaving them there for a moment. He closed his eyes and breathed in, enjoying the peace and quietness that they had grown used to ever since they moved back to the White Kingdom, following Leopold's death.

"Mom!" and the moment of peace was over, "Mom!" a little boy ran towards them "_Henwy_ is _bothewing_ me!"

Reluctantly Regina let go of Robin and started walking towards their small cottage house, picked the younger of their sons on her arms on her way, "Henry, what have I told you about picking on your little brother?" she asked her oldest son, who was running down the stairs.

"I'm not little!" Roland protested, "I'm almost _fouw_!"

"Why do I have to wear this stupid dress?" Henry asked his mother in a whining tone, not bothering on defending his actions against Roland "It itches and I can't breath," he added, pulling the shirt's collar.

Regina placed Roland in the floor, who after having accused his brother ran towards his father. "Stop fidgeting, Henry," she said and fixed the collar, "You have to wear this dress because it's Princess Emma's birthday, and we are going to the castle," she answered his original question. "Come along now, your father and Roland are waiting," Regina added, waiting for Henry to exit the house.

"Why does it matter?" the older boy continued complaining, as he dragged his feet towards the cart "Princess Emma didn't wear a stupid dress for my birthday,"

"Henry," Robin said in a warning tone, and the boy started walking properly, "We will go to the castle because the Queen is an important person to your mother,"

"She's important to everyone, she's our queen!" Henry rolled his eyes and climbed into the cart.

"She was more than that for me," Regina said, placing Roland in the cart and sitting between her two sons, otherwise they would start fighting in no time, "I think it's time to tell you how I met your father," the mother explained.

Henry had wanted to know how his parents met for a long time, but every time he asked either of his parents they'd say it was a story for another night. Robin and Regina had agreed on telling the truth to their children, leaving few gruesome details out - after all, they didn't have to know the whole story. Telling the story during the trip seemed like a good option, at least it would keep both children occupied. Besides, if things with Snow White went as planned, then there was no reason of hiding the truth anymore.

"Why did I have to wait nine years and Roland gets to listen to it when he's just four?"

"Do you want me to wait until Roland is nine to listen to the story?"

"No!" the boy was quick to reply, "Please, tell us the story,"

"Very well," Regina got a little bit more comfortable between her two sons, and Roland rested his head against her thighs, "Once upon a time..." she started.

The children were quiet for the rest of the trip, carefully listening to all the details that their mother told them about how the met and fell in love. Every once in a while, Robin would interrupt Regina to comment on the story in order to make it a little bit more magical to the children. Regina would look at him and pretend to be annoyed, but deep inside they both knew she found adorable how the man who never believed in magic now enjoyed it so freely.

"So, you were the Queen," Henry commented when Regina was done. "You were the fairest of them all!" he added, remembering how Snow White's step mother was addressed every now and then for special occasions (like her death's anniversary).

"Oh, Henry. That's just a thing the noble countrymen say to all their queens,"

"No, it's not," Henry shook his head and cross his arms, "You are the fairest of them all,"

Robin chuckled at his son's statement "In that we agree, my boy,"

Henry smiled at him and looked ahead, "Look! The White City!" he yelled, jumping from his seat and sitting next to Robin, "Faster, Dad, faster!"

And just like that, Henry's full attention had shifted from Regina's story to the city that they were visiting for the first time.

It was Princess Emma's first birthday, and no money was spared on decorating the White City, the Kingdom's capital. Little glass swans hung from the oil lamp posts, and when the sunbeams shone through them they lightened up the streets and walls. Pots filled with white tulips were placed in front of every shop and house, each pot had been decorated in a different way by the city's inhabitants. And kites flew throughout the skies, their bright colours contrasting with the electric blue sky.

The monarchs had also paid for food, drinks and cake for everyone to celebrate with them. Huge tables had been provided by the castle, they had been filled with both edible and non-edible decoration. They had hired magicians and musicians to entertain the people.

The Locksleys left their belongings in the inn where they would spend the night before making their way into the city. With Roland on Robin's arms and Henry grabbing Regina's hand, the happy family ventured through the crowded streets towards the main square. The good people of the kingdom were talking, and eating and dancing. It was, indeed, a huge celebration.

The music was suddenly stopped, but before anyone could ask what was happening, a man yelled above everyone's voices "All hail to your Majesties, Queen Snow White and Prince David, and to her royal highness, Princess Emma!"

Then, the castle's doors opened, and the royal carriage exited through them. Regina had seen the royal carriage only once in her life, when she had greeted the people after her wedding with Leopold. However, the carriage seemed so different with a radiant Snow White in it. Next to the Queen, her husband: the same shepherd that had caught the princess' attention more than ten years ago. David carried the princess in his arms and seemed even happier than his wife, for him the rest of the world didn't seem to exist, it was just he and his little Emma.

Regina couldn't help but to smile at the picture of the happy royal family. It had taken her a while to get it, but Snow White finally had a family that loved her.

The peasants bowed to their Monarchs, as the royal carriage made its way between the people. From the carriage, the King and Queen waved at their people, smiling and accepting little bouquets as presents for Emma.

As the crowd tried to closer to the Queen to present their gifts, Regina accidentally let go of Henry's hand, who had been trying to reach the queen too. The boy, sensing his freedom ran off to present his single rose to the Queen. Without thinking twice about it and the consequences her acts would have, Regina ran after him, reaching the boy just in time to see him giving the rose to Snow and say something to her. At first Regina couldn't imagine how had her son captivated the Queen's attention; but when Snow opened her eyes as saucers, realization hit her.

"Stop!" The Queen yelled to everyone's surprise "Driver, stop the horses!"

Regina froze - she wanted to talk to Snow White and tell her the reasons beyond the staged death, but she didn't want it to be in front of the whole country.

The carriage hadn't stopped completely and Snow White was already opening the door and jumping down. The King got off the carriage as well, with Emma in his arms and a confused expression in his face. A handful of guards motioned the people to take one step backwards to leave some space to the royals to walk around.

Regina saw the Queen talking to her son. And then, she saw her son turning his head towards where she was and pointing at her with a smile on his face. Snow followed the boy's index finger, towards where he was pointing, and then, her face lost all its colour. She took few steps in Regina's direction, not sure if the boy was telling the truth or if he was part of a rude joke.

When the two women were scarce feet apart, Snow let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Now that they were close, she was sure that the woman in front of her was her former step mother.

"Regina?" she heard Snow's voice, so insecure as when she was a child.

"Your majesty," Regina bowed with grace; as if she had been born to bow, and not to be the Queen.

"Stand up, Regina," the Queen said. It was not an order, it was a request.

Regina did as Snow White said, and before she could say something to her former step-daughter, the Queen wrapped her arms around the other woman and gave her a tight hug. It took her by surprise at first, but when she understood what was happening she reciprocated the exchange of affection. Around them, multitude started to whisper, the older people had for sure recognized Regina's face and told to the younger who was the beautiful woman who was being hugged by the Queen.

"Come with us, please?" Snow asked Regina; again in the same tone she used to ask for favours when Regina was Queen and she a Princess.

"As you wish, Queen Snow,"

"Please, don't call me like that," the Queen protested, "And I want you to come, because you want to, not because the queen is asking. Do you want to come with us?"

"I'd like that, yes," Regina confessed, emphasizing her statement with a nod.

The castle looked the same, yet at the same time completely different. The paintings on the walls were the same, the carpets and curtains had not been changed since the last time Regina saw them; but the air no longer carried hate and fear, instead the environment felt very friendly - Regina even hear some maids humming while they did their chores.

They walked towards the gardens, where a very small brunch had been prepared for Emma's birthday. The course seemed like a private affair, because there were only three plates set on the table. Snow asked a young maid if she could bring four sets of cutlery and plates for their guests; then, the Queen sat on a bench, and motioned Regina to sit next to her.

Silence surrounded the two women, and even if it was not a tense silence, it had started to unnerve Regina. There were so many things she wanted to tell the young Queen, yet, the right words didn't seem to come to her mind. At the end, it was Snow who broke the silence.

"What I don't understand is how you are alive. I saw you dead!" when Regina didn't reply, Snow decided to continue talking, "Were you really that unhappy? Was it so bad to be my stepmother?"

"No! You were not the problem, Snow," Regina answered quickly, "You were just a child who wanted love, who deserved love. But I couldn't give that to you. Not while..." her voice trailed off.

"Not while my father was around," the other woman finished for her. Regina gulped, wondering if speaking ill of the late King was considered treason, "It's alright, Regina. I understood a while ago how your marriage to my father must have been, and I apologize for causing you so much pain,"

"It was not your fault, Snow," the former queen said, and took one of Snow White's hands on hers "None of the things he ever did, to me or to someone else, was your fault,"

"But I asked him to marry you," she replied, sounding so fragile, "I condemned you to that life,"

"Children ask for all sorts of things, Snow," Regina stated, "You'll see when Emma starts speaking, and it is up to the parents to take on their desires. If it would be up to Henry, he would live on a tree and walk in nothing but his underpants," she added, trying to lighten the mood and it worked because Snow chuckled.

As Regina had expected all those years ago, Snow White had been quite forgiving. The Queen had also asked Regina to tell her everything about the escape and her life with Robin; Regina didn't spare any details with her, she owed it to Snow to be honest.

"Would you consider moving into the castle?" Snow asked "I've missed you dearly. And I'm sure David and Emma could use some friends who are not part of the court,"

Regina looked at Henry playing 'Who's hiding there?' with Roland and the blonde baby princess; the younger children laughing every time Henry made a face at them. Behind them, Robin and David held an amicable conversation while they watched over the children - the two men even shared a laugh every now and then. A tiny smile appeared on Regina's face, thinking how happy they all seemed.

But the castle was filled with dark memories, memories that still haunted her in the worst of her nightmares.

"I can't live here," Regina shook her head, "but, I can visit you as much as you want. And of course, our house is open for you and your family at any time,"

The idea was far from what Snow White had had in mind, but she understood the unspoken reasons behind Regina's non-acceptance. She agreed to Regina's proposal, happy to have regained the friendship of the woman who had served as her role model for years.

The sun was already setting down by the time the Locksleys decided it was time to go back to the Inn. The royals walked with them towards the stable, were a carriage was fetched for the family - it had been Snow's idea, who hadn't liked the idea of Henry and Roland walking on the dark.

"Snow?" Regina called her before she climbed onto the cart, all formality had been lost between the two women by that time.

"Yes?"

"I'm proud of the queen you've become,"

The Queen's eyes watered, "I had a promise to keep," she replied quickly, before her voice could shake.

A smile lightened Regina's face, she couldn't believe that Snow had kept her word all those years.

Snow and David waved at them, as the cart drove away from the stables. Henry and Roland waved back enthusiastically, until they couldn't see the King and Queen anymore. They quickly fell asleep, Roland laying on Regina's lap and Henry resting his head against Robin's shoulder, all the thrill had worn them down.

"Don't you miss it?" Robin asked when he noticed Regina looking through the window.

"Don't I miss what, dear?"

"The castle, the clothes... All those treasures," he explained "everything I will never be able to give you,"

"Oh, Robin! But can't you see?" Regina exclaimed with a smile "All the treasures I ever wanted, I got from you: love, and three beautiful children,"

"Three?"

"We've got a little girl on the way," she added, unconsciously placing her hand against her stomach.

"A girl?"

"Tinkerbell may have blurted that she wanted to be our daughter's fairy godmother," Regina giggled.

Laying against the carriage's seat, Robin repeated: "A girl," he smiled at his wife, before leaning forward and speaking to Regina's clothed belly, "Hello, little one! I'm your father," Regina caressed his head as he whispered sweet things to their growing child, "I can't wait to meet you," he added, caressing Regina's stomach.

At the end, Regina realized as she closed her eyes to rest from the all the excitement, she didn't get the happy ending she had dreamt as a child. Instead, she had gotten a million of happy beginnings.


End file.
